I 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



BY THE 

Eev. DANIEL BAKER, D.D. 



WITH AN 

INTEODUCTIOK by Rev. WILLIAM M. BAKER. 



COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME. 
SEVENTH EDITION. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED BY ALFEED MAETIEN, 
29 South Seventh Street. 
1880. 



Copyrighted 
By Alfred Martien; 
1880. 



CONTENTS. 



SERMON. PAGE. 

I — Precious Faith , ....323 

II.— The Fulfilment of Scripture Prophecy 345 

III. — The Nature, Sinfulness, and Consequences of Un- 

belief 368 

IV. — Justification 389 

Y. — Naaman 405 

VI— The Example of Eli 432 

YII. — Prove your own Work , 453 

VIII. — The Sufferings of Christ, and their Design 478 

IX.— The Tomb of Jesus 499 

X. — Christian Morality 519 

XL — A Sermon to Young Men ...537 

XII— The Sovereignty of God 5GRK. 

XIII. — The Blessedness of being a Christian 586 

XIV. — Danger of Procrastination 604 

APPENDIX. 

Letter to a Christian Brother in New York 621 

Interesting Recollections . . , 627 



CONTENTS 



PA9B. 

Introductory by William M. Baker 3 



SHRMOW. 

I — Truth and Excellence of the Christian Religion.... 9 



II.— The Greatness of God 3t 

III.— Christ the Mediator 59 

IT.— The Uses of the Law 92 

V. — The Sinner Weighed and found Wanting 112 

YL— The Character and Reward of the Earthly Minded.. 135 

TIL— The Deluge 161 

Till.— War in Heaven 181 

IX.— On Seeking the Lord 201 

X.— The Duty of Coming to Christ 224 

XI — Yain Excuses 244 

XII. — Idleness Reproved .* 211 

XIII — The Necessity of Preparation for Death 299 

3 



INTRODUCTORY. 



My feeling toward my father, and ever since I can remember, 
has been such, that I have at times feared the Apostle would 
have condemned it as an "inordinate affection," and yet there is 
this excuse for me, that every member of his household, our ser- 
vants even, sinned in the same way, if not to the same degree. 
Certain it is, that the disease of which my mother died, was my 
father's death, for she never held up her head after that befell 
and hastened to rejoin him within a very few months. Wherever 
he was known, and according to his degree of acquaintanceship, 
he was beloved. Because with all, as with his own family, it 
was distinctly a Christian affection which he inspired, and there- 
fore an affection the deepest and most durable of all. When I 
prepared his "Life and Labors," for the press I endeavored to 
guard myself, and him, from any excess of love ; and, perhaps, the 
large circulation to which that volume has attained, in the Old 
World and the New, as well as the absence of any criticism in 
the matter, is proof that the self-control was sufficient. In my 
Story of Carter Quarterman my father, under the transparent 
disguise of "Dr. Quarterman," is portrayed with a freer hand, 
yet even there I have regarded Truth as more sacred than the 
one I loved only a little more, at last, than how many thousand 1 

It was Christian affection he had for others— for their 
soids- -it was that which made it so strong, and this it was 
which awakened such love in return. But this is mentioned 
because it is the open secret of these Sermons, as well as of the 
man. They were selected by him from over five hundred, 
all of which had been prepared with the greatest care, and yet the 

5 



6 



INTRODUCTORY. 



writing and re-writing thereof was as the unwearied grinding of 
the optician upon his glass, until it shall be so translucent as to 
be forgotten in the heavenly orbs which it reveals. The singu- 
lar success of this servant of Christ lay in that, the messen- 
ger was not so much forgotten in the message as was the ser- 
vant in the Master. So far at least, as he reached in this, the 
intense desire of his neart we have explanations of two things. 

First. To the utmost bounds of his influence his Sermons, 
like the Gospel, met, so far as they indeed presented the Gospel, 
with universal acceptance. Wherever preached, from the shores 
of the Rio Grande to those of the St. Lawrence, by young and old, 
ignorant and learned, men and women, dull and talented — from 
the New England President of the United States, who was a pew- 
holder and regular attendant upon his ministry in Washington 
City, down to the poorest negro who wept beneath his preaching 
in the South, they were equally anr* warmly regarded. So 
essential was the Christianity of the preacher that in the days, far 
behind us, of denominational wrangling, he had none but friends 
in all churches. Not that he was not doctrinal. The Sermon in 
this volume upon the Divine Sovereignty has been issued by the 
Presbyterian Board of Publication as a standard treatise, yet, 
as often as he preached it, he was sure to be greeted by some 
Methodist minister, presiding elder, possibly Bishop, as he came 
down the pulpit steps with '&e words, "Ah, Doctor, you have 
turned A.rminian, have you ' Let us shake hands over it !" Of 
the many many thousands brought to Christ under his preaching, 
and of the many hundreds of these who have entered the ministry, 
almost as many, possibly, are in other denominations as in his 
own, and yet no man was more attached to his own church. 
The writer has been surprised to learn of the circulation of his 
father's "Life" and "Sermons" in Canada. D L. Moody, the 
Evangelist, received such impulse from these Sermons, that he 
had a selection from them published for circulation in England. 
In his preface to that Selection, Mr. Moody says : " In reading 



INTRODUCTORY. 



7 



two volumes of sermons by the Kev. Daniel Baker, preached 
thirty years ago, I have thought no addresses could he more 
suitable for the present times than these. They have been a 
great help to me ; and many who are now preaching the gospel 
bear similar testimony. Knowing particularly that he was the 
young man's preacher , I believe his printed sermons will give a 
fresh impulse for work to many, and be the means of pointing 
the way to multitudes who are inquiring." There is evidence 
that in Great Britain, his labors are prized to this day only 
less than in America. 

Second. It is repeating the same thing in a different aspect 
when I allude to the perennial freshness of these Sermons. 
There is positive explanation of this in the man himself. While 
laboring as an Evangelist, he preached, taking one case as an 
instance of many, in twenty-four " protracted meetings" of one 
week each, holding rarely less than three service^ a day, many of 
them in the open air, in which over six hundred souls were hope- 
fully converted, and he was aimost, if not quite, as fresh at the 
end as ever. " You do not know how dissipated I feel," he said 
to me one Monday, in Petersburg, Va., "I am not to preach a 
single sermon to-day !" At the end of forty-two years of labor, 
and when in his sixty-sixth year, he had apparently the vigor, 
joyous energy and freshness of his earliest prime. If his leaf did 
not wither, if he brought forth fruit in his old age, if he renewed 
his youth like the eagle, it was in virtue of that eternal life which 
is from Christ. Of Him it is said, "From the womb of the morn- 
ing, thou hast the dew of thy youth." and, surely, with each 
of His disciples, the closer the companionship, the greater 
the likeness in this respect also. So far as these Sermons possess 
vitality and freshness, it is because of Chrst in them. The younger 
ministers of a certain denomination are allowed, I believe, to use 
the discourses of others in the earlier days of their labors, and 
more than one has incidentally told me that he habitually drew 
from this volume, Sabbath by Sabbath. Nor can I forget the min- 



3 



INTRODUCTORY. 



gled feelings with which I heard one of these Sermons preached, 
rears after their author's death, in my <>wn pulpit, and by a min- 
ister of high standing. It had been written out in manuscript 
and was warmly received, but an examination of this volume at 
home immediately after the service showed that not a sentence had 
been varied from, and I marvelled and held my tongue. So far as 
there is virgin gold in this book it is because the mine was near 
to the miner ; so far as its waters are clear it is by reason of the 
recent Rock. For anything in the Sermons, anything of fresh- 
ness and vital force, is of God and not of the man. In Shakes- 
peare, it is styled genius, inspiration. Now, no one ever claimed 
any characteristic of my father so distinctive as that love which 
yielded him utterly to the Master, and to the Master as distin- 
guished from the servant ; to Him is all the glory since all the 
power is His. 

The First Series of Sermons contained herein was issued in 1846, 
and, more than thirty years later, this Sixth Edition is 
called for. In closing I can only add my supplication to that 
with which my father sent out the Third Edition. "The author 
would return thanks to Almighty God for the broad seal of 
Divine approbation put upon the truth herein exhibited ; and at 
the same time, would offer his fervent prayer to God that many 
more may be benefitted, in like manner, long after the author 
shall be numbered with the dead." 

. W. M. B. 

Boston, November 1st, 1878. 



REVIVAL SERMONS 

j^IF^ST JSeRIES. 



SERMON I. 

TRUTH AND EXCELLENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 

TJheir rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges* 
Deut. xxxii. 31. 

These words form a part of what is usually denomi- 
nated " the Song of Moses." It is a poem of singular 
beauty; and, by the best judges, is supposed to contain 
a specimen of almost every species of excellence in com- 
position. It opens with a sublime invocation of the 
heavens and the earth ; evidently designed to convey a 
strong idea of the peculiar importance of the subject- 
matter of the poem. The sacred writer speaks sublimely 
of Israel's God : " Ascribe ye greatness unto our God," 
says he. " He is the Rock ; his work is perfect, for all 
his ways are judgment: a God of truth, and without 
iniquity, just and right is he." The author of the poem 
then adverts to some instances of God's providential care 
exercised over the tribes of Israel, particularly in con- 
ducting them, as on the wings of an eagle, towards the 
promised land. "As an eagle," says he, "stirreth up 
her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her 

9 



IO 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings ; so the 
Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god 
with him." This idea of the tribes of Israel being con- 
ducted out of Egypt, towards the promised land, as upon 
the wings of an eagle, is one of great sublimity, particu- 
larly taken in connection with these words: "I kill, and 
I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any 
that can deliver out of my hand ; for I lift my hand to 
heaven, and say, I live forever." In comparison with 
such a God, the idol gods of the heathen were, emphati- 
cally, "vanity and a lie." No wonder, then, that Moses 
here indulges in the feelings of joy and triumph; no 
wonder that he uses the exulting language of our text: 
"Their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies them- 
selves being judges." Mark the expression — Even out 
enemies themselves being judges. Moses adverts, it seems, 
to some well known instances, in which the superiority 
of Israel's God was acknowledged, even by those who 
served other gods, which indeed were no gods. This 
acknowledgment, it will be recollected, was made by the 
magicians of Egypt, when, utterly unable to resist the 
miracles wrought by Moses, the servant of the true God, 
they exclaimed, " this is the finger of God !" — that is, this 
miracle comes from the true God. This acknowledgment 
was also made by the horsemen of Pharaoh, when, ter- 
ror-stricken in the Red Sea, they cried out one to an- 
other, saying, " Let us flee from the face of Israel, for 
their God fighteth for them against the Egyptians." It 
was, it seems, in reference to these, and similar cases, 
that Moses used the exulting language of our text: 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. II 



" Their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies them- 
selves being judges." 

And now, my brethren, permit me to apply the passage 
before us to a class of persons not entirely dissimilar. I 
mean to those ranged under the banner of infidelity. Re- 
jecting the sacred volume, they have a system of their 
own, if system it may be called. Now, in reference to 
them and their system, I feel very free to apply the lan- 
guage of our text : " Their rock is not as our Rock, even 
our enemies themselves being judges." It may be 
thought by some present, that the speaker is not happy 
in the selection of his subject this day, as there is, per- 
haps, not an avowed infidel in this assembly. But, sup- 
pose there be not an avowed infidel present, there may 
be many spiced with infidelity ; and amongst them, per- 
haps, some interesting young men, who, in their reading 
and travels, have had infidel cavils and objections brought 
before their minds which they know not how to meet ; 
the result is, they have become sceptical. This they are 
not exactly willing to confess, lest, perchance, it might 
reach a mother's ear, and pain a mother's heart ! — but 
the seeds of infidelity are there; and, so long as they 
exist in the bosom, they operate as serious barriers in 
the way of the soul's salvation. This being the case, it 
is proper that, occasionally, at least, the evidences of our 
holy religion should be laid before every congregation. 
Those ranged under the banners of infidelity may plume 
themselves upon their wisdom, and the great superiority 
of their discoveries ; but, thank God ! we, who are Chris- 
tians, occupy better ground than they do, and may well 



12 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



say, with Moses, in the joy and triumph of our hearts, 
" Their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies them- 
selves being judges." 

The supreme excellence and great superiority of the 
Christian religion will appear, I think, very clearly, in 
the three following particulars : 

I. In the matter of evidence. 
II. In reference to the moral influence ; and 
III. In relation to the happiness of man. 

I. In the matter of evidence. Yes, my brethren, what- 
ever witlings and infidels may say to the contrary, it is a 
stubborn fact, that this blessed volume, called the Bible, 
comes to us with credentials clear ! 

" On every line 
Marked with the seal of high divinity; 
On every leaf bedewed with drops 
Of love divine, and, with the eternal heraldry 
And signature of God Almighty stamped 
From first to last." 

Yet the infidel rejects the sacred volume! And why? 
O, because he is a very reasonable man, and cannot, for- 
sooth, without a prostration of everything like reason, 
embrace a system so preposterous and absurd ! Now let 
sound reasonings and facts be submitted to this enlight- 
ened and candid assembly. 

I. If there be no divine revelation, as infidels are wont 
to affirm, herein is a marvellous thing, that there should 
be none ! And why ? For many reasons. One is this : 
There are certain questions propounded by human nature 
itself, weighty and important questions, and which, in the 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1 3 

very nature of the case, never can be answered without a 
divine revelation. For example: Where is God, my 
Maker? The author of my being, who is he? and what 
is he? It will be recollected that this question was 
asked by Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, to Simonides, 
one of the seven wise men of Greece. The philosopher 
requested one day to think upon the subject; at the 
expiration of that period he demanded two days, and 
then four — doubling the time. When asked why he 
demanded so much time, he replied : " Sire, the longer I 
think upon this subject, the more I am lost in its difficul- 
ty and immensity." In the very nature of the case, it is 
none but God that can reveal God ; and yet the infidel 
scouts the idea of the Scriptures having been divinely 
inspired — and he a reasonable man! But another ques- 
tion propounded by human nature is this: How can a 
man be just with God? How can a man, who is a sin- 
ner, obtain the forgiveness of his sins, and be restored to 
the favor of his Maker? This, my brethren, believe me, 
has for ages and ages been one of the most confounding 
and perplexing questions ever presented to the mind of 
man. Heathen sages, and some of the wise ones of the 
earth at the present day, talk about penances and pil- 
grimages, bloody sacrifices, costly offerings, repentance 
and reformation, and many such like things. But it is 
all conjecture ; and, in a matter of such immense import- 
ance, I want something better than conjecture. I am a 
sinner. I feel it, and, troubled on account of my sins, 
I ask, with trepidation, How can a man be just with God? 
How can I, a poor, burdened sinner, obtain the forgive- 



14 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



ness of my sin, and be restored to the favor of my God ? I 
listen, and there is no response ! There can be none, save 
from the throne of God ! — and, without it, I live in dark- 
ness; I die in gloom, and, sinking in the cold embrace 
of death, I have only to say, with the dying Adrian, 
"Alas! my trembling-, dear, departing soul, whither art 
thou going ?" I say, there can be no response, to satisfy 
the troubled conscience, save from the throne of God. 
The case is clear. Take this illustration. I have injured 
you : upon reflection, I am very sorry for it, and I wish 
to know on what terms I may be restored to your favor. 
Shall I ask one of your servants ? He knows nothing 
at all about the matter. He can give nothing better 
than conjecture. You, my dear sir,. the person injured — 
you only can tell me on what terms I may be restored to 
your favor. Even so, in the very nature of the case, it is 
none but God himself who can satisfactorily answer the 
question, How can a man be just with God? And yet 
the infidel laughs at the idea of a divine revelation, and 
plumes himself upon being a reasonable man ! Not so 
very reasonable after all ! Mark my word — not so very 
reasonable after all ! But 

2. If the Bible be not divinely inspired, herein is an- 
other marvellous thing to be accounted for — that some- 
how or other this blessed volume answers all the pur- 
poses of a divine revelation. To say nothing of its giving 
an account, and the only rational account of the creation 
of the world, of the origin of sin, of the division of time 
into weeks of seven days, of the deluge, and other mat- 
ters connected with the early history of the globe, is it 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1 5 

not remarkable that the Bible answers most clearly and 
satisfactorily the questions propounded, as we have 
stated, by human nature itself? Take the first question, 
Where is God, my Maker? or, what is God? You recol- 
lect the reply of Simonides to the monarch who pro- 
pounded to him the question. " Sire, the more I think 
upon this subject, the more I am lost in its di faculty and 
immensity." Now, ask the disciple whom Jesus loved 
the same question : John, what is God ? " God is love," 
says he. How beautiful! how sublime! But if you 
wish a more extended view of the Divine character, 
according to the Scriptures, " God is a Spirit, infinite, 
eternal, and unchangable in his being, wisdom, power, 
holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." Can any descrip- 
tion of the Supreme Being be nobler and more perfect 
than this ? And, being drawn from the Bible, is not this 
"a stamp divine"? Are not these "credentials clear"? 
And yet the infidel rejects the sacred volume — and, 
doubtless, he is a very reasonable man* — in intellect a 
son of Anak, head and shoulders taller than all around 
him! "O shame! where is thy blush ?" 

But another question, as we have said, which human 
nature asks with well grounded solicitude, is this: How 
can a man be just with God ? How can a man, who is a 
sinner, obtain the forgiveness of his sins, and be restored 
to the favor of his Maker? Sages of ancient times, and 
wise men of the present day, will talk, as we have said, 
about the merits of penances and pilgrimages, and lay 
great stress upon the efficacy of repentance and reforma- 
tion; but these things have no divine warrant; they are 



i6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



at best, only matters of conjecture, and all the evidence 
of analogy is against them. Here is a man who, by a 
course of licentious indulgences and extravagance, has 
lost his health and property; and I find that neither 
penances, nor pilgrimages, nor repentance, nor reforma- 
tion, nor all of them united, will remove the effects of his 
licentiousness and extravagance : how do I know, then, 
that they can remove the penal consequences of sin ? In 
the very nature of the case, none but God can tell on 
what terms he will pardon the sinner, and receive him to 
favor ; for none but he can tell what the honor of the 
Divine government may require, or how the punishment 
of the offender can be remitted, without endangering the 
tranquillity of other worlds and creatures which he has 
made. Now, on the subject of forgiveness and restora- 
tion to the favor of God, the Bible is remarkably clear, 
and full, and express. Thus Paul, addressing the men of 
Antioch, says : " Be it known unto you, therefore, men 
and brethren, that through this man, Christ Jesus, is 
preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him, 
all that believe are justified from all things, from which 
ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Again, 
writing to Timothy, he says : ?! It is a faithful saying, and 
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." And again, 
writing to the Romans, we find him using this language : 
"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we 
have received the atonement." And again: "There is, 
therefore, now, no condemnation to them which are m 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1 7 

Christ Jesus, who walk, not after the flesh, but after the 
Spirit" And all this beautifully harmonizing with the 
words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself — " God so loved 
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life." How delightful are these declarations! 
What light do they give to the inquiring sinner— what 
sweet relief to the burdened soul ! 

3. If the Bible be not divinely inspired, here is another 
marvellous thing—that it furnishes a perfect code of 
moral precepts. In this, it is perfectly unique, and stands 
alone in its glory ; for I am bold to say, that there is no 
other volume upon the face of the earth which furnishes 
such a code of precepts. Those acquainted with the 
writings of heathen sages and moralists, know full well 
that their ideas on the subject of moral obligation are 
remarkably crude ; some sanctioning suicide, and some 
infanticide ; and even the enlightened and comparatively 
virtuous Cicero says, " It is lawful to fight for glory." 
And what is this but sanctioning ambition ? Ambition ! 
the direct tendency of which is to drench the earth in 
blood, and fill the world with widows and orphans ! The 
Bible, thank God, teaches a purer and better morality 
than this ! We said that it furnishes a perfect code of 
moral precepts. We do not declaim, we give proof, ab- 
solute demonstration. Our Saviour sums up all the pre- 
cepts of the sacred volume in two great commandments. 
First, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and soul, and mind, and strength ; and Secondly, 
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Now, these two 



i8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



commandments embrace every duty that can be required 
of man. Take the first — We are to love the Lord our 
God supremely ; see how this embraces every duty which 
we owe to our Maker. For example, am I required to 
submit to God ? How easy and how natural it is to sub- 
mit to one whom we supremely love ! Am I required to 
repent of my sins ? It is love which breaks the heart, 
which melts it down in tender relentings for sin! Am I 
required to choose God as the portion of my soul ? If I 
love him supremely, I have done it already. Am I 
required to obey all his commandments? And who 
does not know that 

" 'Tis love which makes our cheerful feet 
In swift obedience move." 

Take the second great commandment — -Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself. Only let this precept be acted 
upon, in all the length and breadth of its requirement, 
and, verily, there would be no occasion for bolts, nor bars, 
nor jails, nor penitentiaries, nor anything of the kind, 
" Love," says the apostle, " worketh no ill to his neighbor, 
therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Yes, only let 
the great law of love be acted upon, in all the length and 
breadth of its requirements, and man would become an 
angel, and earth a paradise ! To crown the whole, strange 
as it may seem, all duties, both toward God and man, are, 
in the Bible, embraced in a single word ; and that, how 
simple, how well understood, by the learned and the un- 
learned, by the civilized, by the barbarian, by male and 
female, by the child of three years of age, and the man of 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1 9 

threescore and ten — Love ! For love, says the apostle, is 
the fulfilling of the law. Is not this a stamp divine? 
Are not these credentials clear ? Yet the infidel rejects 
the Bible ! Let him write a better book if he can ! And 
this reminds me of the case of Lord Lyttleton, who, be- 
longing to a club of infidels, was pitched upon to burn 
the Bible. Taking the volume in his hand, he approached 
the hearth, but, upon second thought, returned and re- 
placed the book upon the stand. When asked why he 
did not throw it into the fire, he made this very sensible 
remark : " We will not burn this book until we can get a 
better." Verily, "Their rock is not as our Rock, even 
our enemies themselves being judges." Again : 

4. If the Bible be not divinely inspired, is it not very 
strange and unaccountable that so many miracles were 
wrought in illustration of its truths ? Miracles wrought 
in open day, in the presence of enemies, and subjected to 
the severest scrutiny. Now, either these miracles were 
wrought, or they were not. If wrought, the case is set- 
tled; for they are the clearest credentials of the divine 
mission of those who wrought them. If not wrought, 
how comes it to pass that we have such a particular and 
detailed account of them. How comes it to pass that 
they were attested by so many eye-witnesses, many of 
whom suffered martyrdom in attestation of the facts which 
they affirmed ? Moreover, how comes it to pass that these 
miracles had so powerful an influence in the spreading of 
doctrines so directly opposed to long-established systems 
and the passions of men ? And let it not be forgotten 
that, in commemoration of soir^ of these miracles, we 



20 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



have monuments and memorials brought down even to 
the present time : the Sabbath, for example, changed from 
the seventh to the first day of the week, to commemorate 
the resurrection of Christ from the dead. As the annual 
celebration of our national independence is a memorial 
and proof of the fact which it commemorates, even so the 
present observance of the Christian Sabbath is a standing 
monument of that stupendous miracle, the resurrection 
of Christ, which it commemorates. And yet the infidel 
wants proof! Once more: 

5. If the blessed volume before me be not divinely 
inspired, how shall we account for the fact that it con- 
tains some five or six hundred prophecies which have 
been most literally and remarkably fulfilled ; and which, I 
presume, no one who has a regard for his reputation as a 
scholar will dare to deny. Here a wide field is presented 
to our view. We have not time to explore it very exten- 
sively ; let me present only a few prophecies, as specimens 
of the rest. Some three thousand years ago, it was pre- 
dicted that the Jews should be a peculiar people. Have 
they not been a peculiar people for many ages past? Are 
they not a peculiar people at the present time ? It was 
predicted that they should be scattered over the face of 
the earth. And where is the kingdom, under heaven, 
where some of this peculiar people are not found ? It 
was predicted that they should be oppressed and peeled ; 
and those who are acquainted with their history know 
that this prediction also has been most remarkably ful- 
filled. It was predicted that they should dwell alone and 
not be reckoned among the nations.; and are they not, at 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 21 



this very day, although scattered over the face of the 
whole earth, yet really a distinct people, isolated and 
alone ? "The children of Israel/' says the prophet Hosea, 
" shall abide many days without a king, and without a 
prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and 
without an ephod, and without teraphim." Hosea iii. 4. 
And is not this their precise condition at the present 
moment? And have they not already continued thus to 
abide, lo! these many days? By estimation there are, at 
this time, about eight millions of Jews upon the earth ; a 
sufficient number to form a powerful empire or more 
glorious republic : and yet they have no king, no prince, 
no polity, no government of their own — and this has been 
the case for eighteen hundred years ! How astonishing 
are these prophecies, and how exact their fulfilment! 
And how certainly true are the words of the apostle 
Peter : " Prophecy came not in old time by the will of 
man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost." Of Ishmael it was predicted 
that he should become a great nation, that he should 
be a wild man, and that his hand should be against 
every man, and every man's hand against him; and 
that he should dwell in the presence of all his breth- 
ren (Gen. xvi. 12); that is, should never be subdued, or 
brought into subjection. Those acquainted with the 
Arabs know that these predictions have been fulfilled to 
the very letter; and with regard to the independence 
which they should ever maintain, it is remarkable that, 
although special efforts have been made by powerful 
monarchs, in various ages, to put them down, these efforts 



22 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



have all ultimately proved unsuccessful. Sesostris, Cyrus, 
Pompey, Trajan, and many other great conquerors, aimed 
at subjugating them, but never succeeded. At the pre- 
sent day, the Arabs, although wandering and predatory, 
are still an independent people ; like the wild ass, whose 
home is the wilderness, whose pasture is the mountains, 
and who searcheth after every green thing. The prophe- 
cies in relation to Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, and Egypt, 
have also received their most exact accomplishment — 
their present condition, according to the statements of 
modern travellers, being precisely what was predicted so 
many thousand years ago. With regard to Egypt, I will 
mention a fact which may have escaped the notice of 
some. Egypt, says the prophet Ezekiel (xxix. 15), shall 
never exalt itself anymore over the nations. This was 
a bold prophecy, when we consider when it was uttered ; 
but the subsequent history of Egypt has been in exact 
accordance with the prediction. But the particular point 
to which I refer is this : Some three or four years since, 
Mehemet Ali, the Pacha of Egypt, was upon the very 
point of subverting the Turkish empire, and would have 
done it, had not the sovereigns of Russia, Prussia, Austria, 
and Great Britain interposed ; and this they did, mark ! 
not to accomplish the prophecy, but to preserve the bal- 
ance of power. The prophecies which relate to the 
Messiah are about two hundred in number, which have in 
every particular been exactly fulfilled in our blessed 
Redeemer. Let me mention only a very few.* It was 
predicted of him that he should be despised and rejected 

* Isaiah liii. 3; xlix. 22. Gen. xlix. 10; xi. 10. Matt. xii. 21. 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 23 

by his own people, the Jews ; that he should lift up a 
standard to the Gentiles ; to him should the gathering of 
the Gentiles be ; and in him shall the Gentiles trust. 
Now this is prophecy. What is history ? In exact ac- 
cordance with the prophecy. Was Christ to be despised 
and rejected by his own people, the Jews ? He came 
unto his own, says John, and his own received him not; 
And they, that is, the Jews, says Luke, were instant with 
loud voices in the temple, requiring that he might be 
crucified. Was Christ to lift up a standard to the Gen- 
tiles ? and was not Saul of Tarsus converted, and made 
the great apostle of the Gentiles? Moreover, to him was 
the gathering of the Gentiles to be. And who are they 
now who profess the Christian faith? Are they not 
Gentiles ? Few Jews, but many Gentiles. On the morn- 
ing of the Christian Sabbath, the doors of ten thousand 
sanctuaries are thrown open, and see the multitudes who* 
gather around the standard of the cross ! Are they Jews? 
— are they not Gentiles ? But it is added : In him shall 
the Gentiles trust. We are all Gentiles, I suppose, who 
are here to-day ; and now tell me, my brother, my sister 
— O ye precious sons and daughters of Zion ! tell me, in 
whom do you trust for salvation ? Is it not in the cruci- 
fied Nazarene? And in whom did that dear mother of 
yours trust in a dying hour, when she so sweetly smiled, 
and said to you, " Meet me in heaven" — in whom did 
she trust? Was it not in Him who by the Jews was 
despised and rejected? I too am a Gentile, and I am not 
ashamed to say that this same blessed Saviour is my only 
hope. Give me Christ, or else I die ! This day, then, 



24 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

have we evidence before our own eyes, and in our own 
hearts, that the prophecies are true, and the Bible is true. 
Yet the infidel rejects the sacred Volume ! And why? 
O, because he is a reasonable man, and he cannot, with- 
out a prostration of everything like reason, embrace a 
system so preposterous and absurd ! Ah ! if I mistake 
not, when afflictions shall make him more sober, and the 
near prospect of death shall make him more thoughtful, 
he will then see the evidence of the truth of the Bible 
more clearly than he does now ! Like Ethan Allen, who, 
being asked by a dying daughter whether she should 
believe what her pious mother had taught her, or he, 
replied with tears, " My daughter, you had better believe 
what your mother has taught you." O how plain it is, 
and how appropriate is our text : " Their rock is not as 
our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges." 

II. The supreme excellence or decided superiority of 
the Christian religion appears also in reference to its 
moral influence. And here, if I mistake not, we have 
public sentiment fully on our side: let a thorough-going 
infidel be truly converted and become a real Christian; 
will not all persons expect to see an improvement in his 
moral character? But, on the other hand, let a real 
Christian (if it were possible) become a thorough-going 
infidel, and is there a man upon the face of the earth 
who anticipates an improvement in his moral character? 
Would there not rather be a suspicion waked up in the 
bosoms of all, that that man has become loose in his 
morals, and, therefore, has become loose in his senti- 
ments? Even the infidel himself is frequently constrained 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 25 

to pay homage to the Christian system, in relation to its 
moral influence. For example — here is an infidel about 
to die; he makes his will, and, greatly desiring that his 
children should not be defrauded, he wishes to fix upon 
some honest man to act as executor; would he not rather 
select a man that he believes to be a real and consistent 
Christian, than an open and avowed infidel? Now these 
things speak volumes. The fact is, the general sentiment 
is this, that however imperfect some professors of religion 
may be, yet Christianity itself is most excellent; that it 
elevates the standard of morals, and has a direct and 
powerful tendency to purify the heart and improve the 
character of all who are really and truly brought under 
its moral influence; and hence it is expected to make 
better husbands and better wives, better parents and bet- 
ter children, better masters and better servants; yea, bet- 
ter altogether. This is the general sentiment; and I will 
now show that this general sentiment is well based. This 
we would argue from the character of its precepts, and 
the power of its motives. First, from the character of 
its precepts. It is evident, the more perfect the precepts 
the more happy their influence upon moral character. 
We have shown that the precepts of the Bible bear the 
stamp of absolute perfection; of course, then, so far as 
good precepts can influence the character of man, the 
influence of the precepts of the sacred volume must be 
most happy. But to place this in, perhaps, a stronger 
point of light, observe, there are three principles of action 
— fear, interest, and love. Fear, as a principle of action, 
is certainly very powerful; but it operates only whilst 



26 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the rod is extended. Interest is also a very powerful 
principle, but this principle i strong enough to meet 
many cases; for a man may know what is right, yet do 
what is wrong; he may know that a certain course of 
conduct will promote his highest interests, but the prin- 
ciple of interest fails to rule him, not being strong enough. 
But there is one principle yet remaining, love; and that 
we may understand its true nature and power, see that 
tender mother — she has a beloved Joseph, or some dear 
little Benjamin, who is very, very sick. See the mother 
of that child ! I can tell you where you can find her, by 
night and by day; — not in the store, nor in her neighbor's 
house, nor even in the sanctuary; no! but by the couch 
of her suffering child! This mother is a lady, born in 
affluence, and delicately brought up; and yet, only see, 
how kind and unremitting she is in her attentions to her 
suffering child! She is a lady, I say, born in affluence, 
and tenderly brought up, and yet she even takes a posi- 
tive pleasure in performing the most menial offices for 
her poor little darling. Now what is it that binds this 
mother to the couch of her suffering child ? What is it 
that makes her so kind and unremitting in her attentions ? 
Is it fear? There is no rod over her. Is it interest? 
The idea of interest never once enters her mind. What 
is it then? Why it is love! Yes, it is love which binds 
her to the couch of her suffering child. It is love which 
makes her take a positive pleasure in performing the 
most menial offices for the poor little sufferer. Take 
away that mother (it will require a strong arm to do this !) 
—reach out the arm of a Hercules, and tear away that 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 27 

mother — substitute a hireling. Bring rewards and pun- 
ishments to bear upon that hireling to their greatest pos- 
sible extent, and I will venture to affirm that there is no 
hireling on earth that wiil take a mother's place. And 
why ? For this simple reason — the mother is under the 
influence of the strongest feeling which can animate the 
human bosom — love. Verily there is no principle of 
action like it, so strong, so uniform, so lasting ! and, more- 
over, who does not know that the service which love 
prompts, is of all others tb~ most pleasant and desirable? 
Now is it not remarkable that, in our religion, this is 
made the great principle of moral action. Yes, not fear, 
nor interest, but love. Love, says the apostle, is the ful- 
filling of the law. And to make the matter yet more re- 
markable, this principle being fixed upon, to wake it up 
and give it new power and energy over the human soul, 
God himself has set us an example of love in giving his 
Son, his only begotten anol well-beloved Son, to die for 
our redemption. And now, candid man, speak! Does 
not this look like a religion which comes from God ? If 
any religion can have a happy influence upon moral char- 
acter, must it not be that religion, all the precepts of which 
are summed up in love ? Yet the infidel wants proof!! 

With regard to the motives which are, in the Bible, 
brought to bear upon the moral character of man, they 
are absolutely the strongest which can exist. This is no 
rhetorical figure, no idle declamation; it is simple, un- 
deniable fact. Here is the demonstration. Are the mo- 
tives to virtuous living drawn in the Scriptures from God ? 
They are ; and now, is there any god in the universe 



28 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



greater than the God whom the Bible reveals ? Are they 
drawn from the joys of heaven ? They are ; and are there 
any joys greater, than the joys of heaven? Are they 
drawn from the torments of the damned in hell ? They 
are ; and are there any torments more tormenting than 
the torments of the damned in hell? Are they drawn 
from the love of Christ ? They are ; and is there any love 
so strong, so touching, so soul-subduing, as the love of 
Christ, who, according to the Scriptures, died on the cross 
for us? Are the motives drawn from eternity? They 
are ; and is there any duration longer than that of eternity? 
Thus you perceive that the motives to holy living, in the 
Bible, are not only drawn from three worlds, heaven, 
earth, and hell, in short, from all quarters, but they are 
literally and absolutely the strongest which, in the very 
nature of the case, can be brought to bear upon the moral 
character of man. The fact is, Christianity goes in advance, 
lays the hand of a master upon ever source of motive, 
and monopolizes them all. And now, suppose infidelity 
would urge motives to holy living, (which, however, is ' 
not very probable,) whence will it derive its motives? 
From God ? The infidel is not very certain that there is 
a God. Will infidelity draw its motives from the joys of 
heaven ? These, he suspects, are only the dreams of the 
visionary enthusiast. Shall motives be drawn from the 
torments of hell ? The infidel is quite sure that there is 
no such place as that. Shall motives be drawn from love ? 
Alas ! infidelity presents, in its system, no dying Saviour, 
no cross crimsoned with atoning blood ! Shall the mo- 
tives then be drawn from eternity ? The infidel strongly 



TRUTH 0£ THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 29 



suspects that death is an eternal sleep. O, what a poor 
thing infidelity is, when seen in the undress of its true 
•character 1 How tean! how haggard 1 how shrivelled 1 
•aye, and may I not add, how frightful, tool I nave men- 
tioned, that if Christianity should universally prevail, if 
its precepts were acted upon in all the length and breadth 
of their requirements, there would be fto Occasion for 
bolts, nor bars, nor jails, nor penitentiaries, nor anything 
of the kind, for man would become as an angel, and earth 
as a paradise. But if, on the other hand, infidelity should 
prevail, does any man in his senses believe that there 
would be no occasion for bolts, nor bars, nor jails, nor 
penitentiaries, nor anything of the kind ? — that man would 
become as an angel, or earth as a paradise ? I think not. 
In the providence of God infidelity did once prevail— 
where? In revolutionary France — when? During that 
period so properly called " the reign of terror." Yes, 
infidelity did then prevail, for at that time the National 
Convention decreed that there was no God. The Sabbath 
was abolished ; churches were turned into temples of 
reason ; death was declared to be an eternal sleep ; and 
the Bible was dragged along the streets of Lyons in a way 
of derision and contempt. Yes, I repeat it, infidelity then 
prevailed, and verily its fruits were the fruits of Sodom, 
and its clusters the clusters of Gomorrah. Infidelity then 
reigned, and most frightful was its reign. Its crown was 
terror, its throne the guillotine, its sceptre the battle-axe, 
its palace-yard a field of blood, and its royal robes dripped, 
and dripped, and dripped with human gore. All France 
was, as it were, one vast slaughter-house, and the rulers 



3 o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



of France as demons from the bottomless pit. " O, my 
soul, come not thou iafro their secret; unto their assem- 
bly, mine honor, be not thou united." "Their rock is 
not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being 
judges." But, 

III. The supreme excellence and decided superiority 
of the Christian religion appears in reference to the hap- 
piness of man. What has a favorable influence upon 
human character, must also have a favorable influence 
upon human happiness, for these things are linked to- 
gether like the balloon and its car ; the ascent of the one 
necessarily leads to the elevation of the other. That the 
Christian religion is favorable to human happiness, is, I 
believe, the secret conviction, even of many who may not 
openly confess it; hence it is no uncommon thing to hear 
even the openly wicked say, "I believe that the real Chris- 
tian is the happiest man in the world t" and I recollect 
the remark of a certain sceptic, made to myself, (it was in 
the hour of affliction,) " O sir, you Christians have the 
advantage of ' us/*" I think I may venture then to affirm 
that general sentiment is on our side; and I think I can 
show that this general sentiment is well based, for what 
does the Christian religion do? It subdues the boister- 
ous passions of the soul; converts the lion into a lamb; 
the vulture into a dove: must not this be favorable to 
human happiness? What does the Christian religion 
do? It gives exercise to gracious affections. Instead 
of encouraging anger, wrath, malice, revenge, and other 
hateful and soul-tormenting passions, it disposes its sub- 
ject to be kind, gentle, affectionate, and forgiving; and 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 3 1 



must not this be favorable to human happiness? What 
does the Christian religion do ? It sheds abroad a 
Saviour's love in the heart ; gives the sweet assurance 
that our sins are all forgiven for Jesus' sake ; that the 
eternal God is our Father; that heaven is our home; and 
that, if the earthly house of this our tabernacle were dis- 
solved, we should have a building of God, a house not 
made with hands, eternal and on high. O, it is a blessed 
thing to be a Christian; even "if it be a delusion," as one 
remarks, "it is a sweet delusion," and, "if false, no truth 
so precious as the lie." O, see the young convert, whose 
evidences are bright and clear; how happy! and see the 
dying Christian, who leaves the world in the full hope 
of glory, how triumphant! The Pentecostal converts, 
we are told, did eat their meat with gladness and single- 
ness of heart, praising God. And when many believed 
in Samaria, we also learn that there was great joy in 
that city. And the beauty of the thing is this, that when 
afflictions come, and comforts are most needed, then the 
consolations of religion are strongest and most abundant; 
for religion teaches every child of God that afflictions 
are all ordered in mercy ; and are but the sterner voice 
of God's parental love. Yes ! and in the darkest hour, 

"Here speaks the Comforter, in God's name, saying, 
Earth has no sorrows that Heaven cannot cure." 

' his, my brethren, is certainly a great thing for man in 
this vale of tears ; in this land of trials, troubles, disap- 
pointments, sickness, sorrow, and death. Ah ! how many 
sad scenes of mourning are presented in this sorrowful 



32 



REVIVAL SERMONS* 



world of ours ! Here, some venerated father cries out, 
with the patriarch of old, My Joseph is no more! and 
my gray hairs must go down with sorrow to the grave ! 
There, some tender mother weeps over the darling of her 
bosom, as she commits its clay cold form to its narrow 
house. Here, some affectionate husband laments the 
untimely death of the wife of his bosom, the jewel of his 
heart ; and there, some devoted wife mingles bitter tears 
with the clods which rest upon the bosom of the dear 
man she loved — her husband. How distressing! But 
perhaps this is not all ; she is made the widowed mother 
of poor fatherless children, who look up to her for com- 
fort and support, and look in vain. The prop, the only 
support of the family, is taken away! and they, what 
shall they do? The heart, bursting with grief, vents its 
complaints, it murmurs and repines : " Where is the com- 
passion of my God ? where are the tender mercies of my 
heavenly Father? my affliction is too much for my 
wounded spirit! it is more than I can bear! would God 
I had never been born ! or would God I were with my 
beloved,. sleeping with him in his silent gravel" Cease, 
mourner! cease thy complaints! says our religion — It is 
God, why weepest thou? Remember he is a God of 
unerring wisdom, and boundless compassion. Know this 
— enough for thee to know — God does not willingly afflict 
the children of men, but chastens and rebukes in cove- 
nant love. Cease, mourner! cease thy complaints! thy 
heavenly Father speaks to thee : " Silence, my child I 
what I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know 
hereafter." O how does this soothe the smitten heart, 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 

and wipe away the falling tears ! Verily, the consolations 
of religion are sweet and strong, fulfilling the words of 
the Psalmist : " God is our refuge and strength, a very 
present help in time of trouble." 

" How do you find yourself this morning ?" said a cer- 
tain pastor to a beloved female member of his church, 
who was near her end. Grasping the hand of her pastor, 
she replied, " I am in great pain, but O ! I am happy \ 
very happy !" How different was it with Hume's mother, 
who, when in deep affliction, said to her son, " My son, 
you have taken away my religion, and now tell me some- 
thing to comfort me :" but no comfort could he give, and 
none could she receive. " God of Queen Clotilda," cried 
out the infidel Clovis I. of France, when in trouble on the 
field of battle, " God of Queen Clotilda ! grant me the 
victory!" Why did he not call upon his own God? 
Saunderson, who was a great admirer of Sir Isaac New- 
ton's talents, and who made light of his religion in health, 
was, nevertheless, heard to say in dismal accents on a 
dying bed, " God of Sir Isaac Newton, have mercy on 
me!" Why this changing of gods in a dying hour? And 
it is a remarkable fact, if an infidel have a wife who is a 
Christian, he is very willing, in case of her death, to have 
the minister attending her funeral to say, " My friends, 
here we have a daughter of Zion shrouded and prepared 
for the burying. You all knew her very well. She was 
a Christian ; she lived the life of the Christian ; she died 
the Christian's death, and is gone to the Christian's rest, 
the pilgrim's home." But, suppose this wife of his had 
been as thorough-going aa i<fidel as himself, and the 



34 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



minister, at her funeral, should say, " My friends, here is 
one before us, shrouded and prepared for the burying. 
You all knew her well. She was a thorough-going infi- 
del. She livecl the life of an infidel, died his death, and 
is gone to his place!" Would this please him? Nay, 
verily, for there are certain seasons when the mind will 
be sober, and the voice of truth will be heard ! You have 
heard, no doubt, of many an infidel on a dying bed, wish- 
ing that he was a good Christian; but did you ever hear 
of a single Christian on a dying bed wishing that he was 
a good infidel? No I never! never! never! The case is 
clear. " Their rock is not our Rock, even our enemies 
themselves being judges." Well, my brethren, we must 
all die. We all wish to die happy — certainly, at least, on 
the safe side. Now let it be remembered, that whilst the 
bed of death is most generally a terrible place for the infi- 
del, " the chamber where the Christian meets his fate is 
privileged beyond the common walks of virtuous life, 
quite on the verge of heaven." Here, we will suppose, 
is a dormitory on the right, where Christians are breath- 
ing their last. Here, on the left, is another dormitory, 
in which infidels are giving up the ghost. Let us visit, 
first, the dormitory upon the right. Who is that who is 
just expiring? It is the very pious Halyburton. How 
serene! how calm! But he is going to speak. Hark! 
let us catch some of his last words. " It is no easy thing 
to be a Christian," says he, "but, by the grace of God, I 
have got the victory ! Now, I know, I feel, I believe ! 
I rejoice! I feed on manna! I have angel's food! 
Mine eyes shall see my Redeemer! O the glory! the 



TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 35 



unspeakable glory ! My heart is full ! my heart is 
full! 

" Sure the last end 
Of the good man is peace ! How calm his exit ! 
Night dews fall not more gently to the ground ; 
Nor weary, worn-out winds expire so soft I" 

" Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last 
end be like his !" Now let us pass over to the dormitory 
on the left. Who is that just expiring ? It is the wretched 
Altamont (a fictitious name, but descriptive of a real case). 
O how distorted are his features ! and how full of agony 
does he seem to Be ! The clock strikes, and he exclaims, 
"Otime! time! it is fit that thou shouldst thus strike 
thy murderer to the heart ! How art thou fled forever ! 
A month! a day! I ask not for years, though an age 
were too little to fit me for the work which I have to do !" 
Another groan, and he cries out in anguish unutterable: 
" My principles have poisoned my friend ! my extrava- 
gance has beggared my boy ! my unkindness has mur- 
dered my wife ! And is there another hell ? O thou 
blasphemed, yet indulgent Lord God! hell itself is a 
refuge, if it hide me from thy frown !" Here we have, 
even on earth, the first notes of the wailings of the 
damned in the world to come ! Tell me not of the peace- 
ful death of David Hume. His nurse has told some tales 
of horror — but let that pass. How did he die, as the 
most favorable account represents ? He died playing at 
cards, and jesting about Charon and his boat ! Does it 
become the dignity of man, or the solemnity of the hour 
of dissolution, in any case to leave the world in this way? 



36 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



Believe me, it was only a desperate effort to bar serious 
thought — like the schoolboy, passing through the grave- 
yard at night, with satchel in his hand, 

« Whistling aloud to bear his courage up." 

Thank God, the Christian has no occasion for any arti- 
ficial excitement of this kind, for, to him, "to die is gain." 
Do you demand further proof? Let us make another 
visit to the dormitory on the right. How pleasant is 
everything around this hallowed spot! Who is that just 
sinking in the arms of death ? It is Edward Payson. O 
how happy he looks! But he is going to speak; what 
is his language ? "I am going to Mount Zion," says he. 
" I am going to the city of the living God ! the heavenly 
Jerusalem ! to an innumerable company of angels ! to the 
general assembly and church of the first born, whose 
names are written in heaven ! I swim in a river of plea- 
sure ! I swim in a flood of glory !" And who is that in 
the next chamber, who is bidding his friends a final adieu? 
It is William C. Walton, the associate of my college days; 
and what are his dying words? They are very beautiful 
and very sweet. V The sting of death is gone," says he, 
" the grave is disrobed of its terrors ! Peace, like a river, 
flows into my soul ! I am now in the Jordan of death, 
and, blessed be God ! its waters do not cover me. I shall 
see Jesus ! — see Jesus ! what a thought that is ! O glori- 
ous Saviour!" Surely, my brethren, the curtains of light 
and glory are hung around this dormitory ; but around 
the dormitory on the left, the curtains of gloom and des- 
pair ! Over this waves the white banner of the Prince of 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 



37 



Peace ! Over that, the black banner of Apollyon ! Here 
are choirs of angels waiting to sing the pilgrim to his 
rest ! There, ministers of vengeance, ready to hurry the 
guilty soul of the dying sinner reluctantly — O how reluc-. 
tantly ! — before thy throne, thrice holy God ! 

And now, my dear friends, one and all, remember, we 
must die; we cannot help it: and remember, after death 
comes the judgment; and once lost, lost forever! When 
Death's leaden sceptre is laid upon our cold bosoms, no 
mistakes can be rectified any more ; for, so soon as the 
breath leaves the body, the decree of an immutable God 
rolls over the shrouded form : " He that is filthy, let him 
be filthy still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." 
In which dormitory would you rather die ? Immortal 
man ! take care ! great interests are at stake ! See to it 
that you be upon the safe side ; for, I repeat it, once lost, 
you are lost forever! 



SERMON II. 

THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 
O Lord, my God, thou art very great.— Psalm civ. L 

One reason why many persons habitually and fearlessly 
indulge in sin, is, that they know not God. "Thou 
thoughtest," says he, " that I was altogether such an one 
as thyself." Psalm 1. 21. This being the case, it is im- 
mensely important that we seek to know God — that we 
seek to have some proper conceptions of his true charac- 



38 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



ter and dignity — of his exceeding greatness and majesty. 
But here the words of Zophar are brought to our recol- 
lection : " Canst thou by searching find out God ? Canst 
thou find out the Almighty to perfection ? It is high as 
heaven, what canst thou do ? It is deeper than hell, what 
canst thou know ? The measure thereof is longer than 
the earth ; it is broader than the sea." Job xi. 7, 8, 9. 
We admit it; we know full well that it is beyond a mor- 
tal's mind, beyond an angel's power, "to cast a thought 
half-way to God." Yet it is right and proper to push our 
inquiries here, for what though we cannot "rise to the 
height of this great argument," nor grasp the boundless 
theme, the effort may at least serve to expand the mind, 
and give us views of our Maker's grandeur which we 
never had before. 

The man who stands upon the shore of some vast 
ocean, and casts his eyes over the immeasurable deep 
before him, sees, it is true, no bounds ; yet the contem- 
plation of this sublime and magnificent scene greatly ele- 
vates his mind, and gives him conceptions of the immen- 
sity of the ocean, both new and grand. Who can grasp 
the amplitude of creation? who can cast his thoughts 
over all the works of God ? who can measure the great 
temple of universal nature, and tell its height and its 
depth, its length and its breadth ? Not a human being 
upon the face of the earth ; yet, certainly, he who has 
studied the subject has more enlarged and correct ideas 
of it than he who has not. Even so, what though, after 
all our researches, we cannot " find out the Almighty 
unto perfection," the effort may, in some measure, elevate 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 



39 



and expand the mind, and enable us, with feelings of 
more profound veneration and awe, to utter the language 
of our text : " O Lord, my God, thou art very great." 
The greatness of God appears in several things : 

I. In comparison with the kings of the earth : and to 
this the Psalmist has special reference in the words con- 
nected with our text. The kings of the earth are some- 
times termed great ; thus we read of Alexander the Great, 
of Constantine the Great, and Frederick the Great, but, 
verily, in comparison with the God of heaven, their great- 
ness dwindles into insignificance — dwindles into nothing! 
Have they thrones ? Their thrones are upon the earth ; 
God's throne is in the heavens, "high above all height." 
Have they robes ? God's robes are robes of light and 
majesty. Have they pavilions ? He stretcheth forth the 
heavens as his pavilion, and spreadeth them out as a tent 
to dwell in. Have they chariots ? He maketh the clouds 
his chariot — he walketh upon the wings of the wind. 
Have they kingdoms? The whole universe is God's 
kingdom, and literally he ruleth over all. And whereas 
the mightiest potentates of the earth are mortal, and must 
die, God is in his own nature immortal, and never dies, 
but lifts his hand to heaven and says, I live forever ! 
Comparing, then, the God of heaven with the monarch 
of the earth, as the Psalmist has done, we may say with 
great emphasis, "O Lord, my God, thou art very great." 
The greatness of God also appears — 

II. In certain passages of Scripture which speak sub- 
limely of him. Thus Habakkuk, the prophet, says: 
" God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount 



4o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



Paran, Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the 
earth was full of his praise. Before him went the pesti- 
lence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. He stood 
and measured the earth: he beheld and drove asunder 
the nations; the everlasting mountains were scattered, 
the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting." 
Hab. iii. 3-6. "In my distress," says the Psalmist, "I 
called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice out of his 
temple. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foun- 
dations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because 
he was wroth. He bowed the heavens also, and came 
down, and darkness was under his feet : and he rode upon 
a cherub, and did fly ; yea, he did fly upon the wings of 
the wind. He made darkness his secret place, his pavilion 
round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of 
the skies. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and 
the Highest gave his voice; hailstones and coals of fire. 
Yea, he sent out his arrows and scattered them ; and he 
shot out lightnings and discomfited them. Then the 
channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the 
world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast 
of the breath of thy nostrils." Psalm xviii. 6-15. And 
what an idea of the exceeding greatness of God does 
Isaiah give, when, speaking of him, he says : " Who hath 
measured the waters in the hollow of his hand ; and meted 
out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of 
the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in 
scales, and the hills in a balance ? Behold the nations 
are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small 
dust of the balance ; behold, he taketh up the isles as a 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 



41 



veiy little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, 
nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. All 
nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted 
to him less than nothing, and vanity." Isa. xl. 12, 15-17. 
Once more: What a sublime idea of the greatness of God 
does the apostle John give in these words: "And I saw 
a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose 
face the heaven and the earth fled away, and there was no 
place found for them : and I saw the dead, small and 
great, stand before God." Rev. xx. II, 12. Here you will 
observe we have described the appearing of the great 
God as final Judge, and as an effect of his appearance, the 
vanishing away of the heavens and the earth. As the 
sun, rising in full splendor, with its effulgent beams scat' 
ters the shades of night and the mists of the morning, 
even so, at the coming of the great God as final Judge, 
the heavens and the earth, substantial as they are, shall 
be only as the shades of night and the mists of the morn- 
ings Smitten by the living and insufferable effulgence of 
his glory, the heavens and the earth shall pass away as 
the shades of night and the mists of the morning, and no 
place be found for them ! " O Lord, my God, thou art 
very great !" But the greatness of God appears — 

III. In certain attributes ascribed to him in the sacred 
volume. For example: (1.) He is uncreated and eternal. 
What a thought this is — uncreated and eternal ! without 
beginning of days or end of years ! There is something 
absolutely overwhelming in this idea, but it is clearly 
presented by Moses in the ninetieth Psalm. " Before the 
mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed 



42 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the earth and the world, even from everlasting to ever- 
lasting thou art God !" And we may well say, in the 
language of the pious poet: 

** Great God ! how infinite art thou ! 
What worthless worms are we ! 
Let the whole race of creatures bow, 
And pay their praise to thee. 

Thy throne eternal ages stood, 

Ere seas or stars were made; 
Thou art the ever living God, 

Were all the nations dead. 

Eternity, with all its years, 

Stands present in thy view; 
To thee there's nothing old appears, 

Great God ! there's nothing new." 

O ! who can measure the past eternity of God ? As all 
the nations of the earth, when compared with God, are as 
a drop of a bucket, as the small dust of the balance, and 
even as less than nothing, and vanity, even so all the 
moments of time from the creation of the world down to 
the present period, when compared with the life of God, 
are as a drop of a bucket, as the small dust of tlu balance, 
as less than nothing, and vanity ! Aye, and this would 
be equally true, if each of these moments should stand 
for a million of years. *' O Lord, my God, thou art very 
great !" (2.) God is omniscient. The wisest men on 
earth, and even the loftiest angels in heaven, know, com- 
paratively, only a few things ; but God literally knows all 
things: all things in heaven, earth, and hell — all things 
past, present, and to come ! and mark, not merely great 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 



43 



things, but small things. Literally, everything ; hence 
the language of the Psalmist, "There is not a word in my 
tongue, but lo ! O Lord, thou knowest it altogether!" 
No wonder he adds, " Such knowledge is too wonderful 
for me. It is high, I cannot attain unto it." 

" O wondrous knowledge, deep and high I 
Where can a creature hide ? 
Within thy circling arms I lie, 
Beset on every side." 

But this leads me to mention another stupendous attri- 
bute nearly allied: (3.) God is omnipresent. This David 
teaches in the following very beautiful and striking lan- 
guage : " Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or whither 
shall I flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up into 
heaven, thou art there : if I make my bed in hell, behold 
thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and 
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall 
thine hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." 
Ps. cxxxix. As the sun in its full brightness shines upon 
an extended plain, and every blade of grass, so to speak, 
is in the presence of that sun, so is every object, great 
and small, throughout the whole universe, in the pre- 
sence, the immediate presence rf God. I hold in my 
hand a crystal globe. It is surrounded by light; it swims 
in light; and light pervades every part. This is another 
illustration, imperfect, indeed, ( f the omnipresence of 
God. But the best representation of the matter is this : 
According to the Scriptures, the eye of God is everywhere; 
the ear of God is in every place; and his hand upon 
everything. First, The eye of God is everywhere. All 



44 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



things, says the apostle, are naked and open unto the 
eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Yes, my breth- 
ren, there is not an angel in heaven, there is not a devil 
in hell, there is not a man on the earth, aye, and there is 
not a beast roaming in the forest, nor a bird flying in the 
air, nor a fish sporting in the deep, nor a worm crawling 
upon the ground, nor an atom floating in the breeze, 
which may not say with Hagar in the wilderness, "Thou, 
God, seest me !" Walls, shades, and distance oftentimes 
hide objects from the view of man; but there are no walls 
so thick.no shades so dark, nor no distance so great 
which can hide anything from his view. Literally, all 
things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with 
whom we have to do. " O Lord, my God, thou art very 
great!" But not only is the eye of God everywhere, but 
his ear also is in every place. As God sees everything 
which exists, so likewise does he hear every voice which 
is uttered, whether, if I may so speak, it be loud or soft, 
distant or near. Many voices being uttered at the same 
time will distract our attention. We usually attend to 
only one voice, at one and the same time, and even that 
is not heard when swallowed up by a voice which is 
louder still ; for 

"Who can hear a shaking leaf, 
When rattling thunders round us roar ?" 

But God can, at the same moment of time, hear every 
voice, as we have said, whether it be loud or soft, whether 
it be distant or near ; aye, and every voice distinct, whether 
it be the howling of the storm, or the sighing of the 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 



45 



breeze ; the rattling of the hail, or the falling of the dew ; 
the crushing of the thunderbolt, or the music of the 
spheres ; the shoutings of the world above, or the wailings 
of the world beneath. Yes, and if all tempests were howl- 
ing, and all thunders roaring; if all angels were shouting, 
and all devils were wailing; and if, in addition to this, 
millions of worlds were dashing together in wild uproar, 
yet would it be to God as if the pulse of nature stood 
still, and God were listening to my voice alone. What 
an astonishing proof is this of the fact that God is every- 
where, not only seeing everything that exists, but also 
hearing! But this is not all. The hand of God is upon 
everything. If your hand is laid upon me, assuredly I 
am in your presence; but the hand of God, according to 
the Scriptures, is upon everything, therefore everything 
is in the immediate presence of God, hence the language 
of the Psalmist, already repeated: "If I should take the 
wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts 
of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy 
right hand shall hold me." Man is confined to a small 
spot of this earth which he inhabits, and this earth itself, 
in comparison with the universe, is but as an atom or a 
point; but God pervades all immensity! What an over- 
whelming thought this ! God, by his essential presence, 
pervading the whole universe ! Well may we exclaim, * 
with the astonished Psalmist, "O Lord, my God, thou 
art very great !" (4.) God is omnipotent, but in speaking 
on this subject we may say, as Job said: "The thunder 
of his power who can understand ?" One thing we know, 
* He can create, and he destroy;" yea, he can dash whole 



4 6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



worlds to death and make them when he please. Liter- 
ally he can do all his pleasure, in heaven and on earth, 
throughout all space, and throughout all time! If all 
men, if all angels, if all worlds were to conspire against 
him, it would be only as an atom magnifying itself against 
a mountain, or a feather attempting to resist a whirlwind ! 
And observe, this omnipotent power is seated in his will; 
he willed that innumerable angels should exist, and innu- 
merable, angels did exist; he willed that unnumbered 
worlds should be formed, and unnumbered worlds were 
formed. Yes, by his almighty fiat, by the mysterious 
energy of his will, the sun, the earth, the moon, the stars, 
yea, all creation, rose from the womb of unessential night, 
and in beauty, in order, and grandeur, rolled around his 
eternal throne; and should he now only will it, the sun, 
the earth, the moon, the stars, yea, all creation, would 
immediately roll back into their original nothing, and 
give place for a new display of the all- creating and omni- 
potent energy of his will. O, this mighty, mighty God ! 
who, by the omnipotent power of his will can bring into 
existence men and angels, and worlds and systems, and 
then blot them out forever; what can we say but utter 
the language of the text, u O Lord, my God, thou art very 
great" ? But the greatness of God appears, 
* IV. In the mighty work of creation. We have spoken 
of his omnipotence as an attribute ; here we have its sub- 
lime demonstration. How vast is this creation, and how 
wonderful in all its parts ! How many suns, how many 
worlds, how many systems ! How great their magnitude, 
and how immense the space in which they move ! Light, 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 47 

we are told, moves at the rate of one hundred and eighty- 
thousand miles in a second of time, and yet it will take 
five years for a ray of a light to pass from our sun to the 
nearest star. But such facts immediately confound and 
overwhelm us. Let us take another view. The globe 
which we inhabit is really a great globe, being nearly 
eight thousand miles in diameter, and twenty-five thou- 
sand in circumference. What towering mountains does 
it contain, what broad rivers, what vast oceans, what 
numerous islands, what extended continents, and what a 
vast population ! If this world of ours is deemed large, 
what shall we say of yonder sun, which is nearly thirteen 
hundred thousand times larger still? If a globe of fire, 
as some suppose, what an immense fiery globe, which, if 
hollow, could with ease receive into its bosom more than 
a million of such worlds as ours is ! — and if habitable 
like our earth, as others think, then what mountains, what 
rivers, what oceans, what islands, what continents, and 
what a population! And, after all, what is this earth, 
and yonder sun, and all its planets, to all the other suns, 
and worlds, and systems, which telescopic glass have 
spread out before the eye of man ? Only as the fringe 
upon the garment of creation, or as a small village in 
some vast empire; for astronomers tell us that there are 
eighty millions of suns discovered, around which roll, by 
estimation, two billions four hundred millions of worlds; 
and all these may be only as the outskirts of some still 
mightier creation ; and God made them all ! Not only 
so, he made them without materials, and with infinite 
ease; he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it 



4 8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



stood fast. Another idea is this: This immense, immense 
universe is all in motion ; each sun, and world, and sys- 
tem, rolling in its appointed orbit with a velocity most 
astonishing; swifter than the whirlwind passing over the 
bosom of the deep, or the meteor streaming along the 
archway of heaven, or the ball thrown from the mouth of 
the thundering cannon. And God bears up all, as in the 
hollow of his hand ! A giant would stagger under the 
weight of a small rock, and an army of giants could not 
roll one mountain, or heave one ocean ; but God Almighty 
with infinite ease bears up all worlds, and with infinite 
ease can, heave and roll swiftly the whole creation. O 
Lord, my God, thou art very great! But once more, the 
greatness of God appears, 

V. In the work of redemption. This presents a new 
view of the greatness of God, exhibiting his moral gran- 
deur; and it is this which makes him emphatically and 
supremely great indeed. Infinitely great in goodness as 
he is infinitely great in power; infinitely great in all his 
moral as in all his natural perfections; so that, in the sub- 
limest sense, it may be said of him that " He is a God, 
all o'er consummate, absolute, full orbed, in his whole 
round of rays complete." In the work of redemption, 
what did God do ? He reconciled the claims of conflict- 
ing attributes, and in the plan of saving sinful man from 
a deserved and everlasting hell, he caused each and all 
of his divine attributes to shine out with peerless and 
dazzling splendor. God so loved the world, that he gave 
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life. God could 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 



49 



have made a greater universe than he has made, but we 
cannot see how it is possible for God, infinite as he is, to 
have made a greater gift than he has done, so that the 
poet has well said: 

«« God, in the person of his Son, 
Hath all his mightiest works outdone." 

If in creation we see the hand of God, in redemption 
we see his heart." If in the work of creation there be a 
display of God's natural perfections which has a height 
and depth we cannot fathom, in the work of redemption 
we have, in the exhibition of his moral perfections, an 
ocean without bottom and without shore. Indeed, accord- 
ing to the Scriptures, the work of redemption is presented 
to us as that which is to the Lord for a crown of glory, 
and for a diadem of beauty; the master-piece and chief 
work of the Great God: that, indeed, for which all things 
else were brought into being; as it is written, God hath 
created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent (that is, 
for this specific purpose) that now unto the principalities 
and powers, in heavenly places, might be known by the 
church, (Eph. iii. 9, 10, n,) the manifold wisdom of God. 
If, then, creation be a casket, redemption is the richest 
jewel in that casket; and if creation be to the Lord, as 
we have said, a crown of glory, redemption is the most 
resplendent gem which glitters in that crown of glory. 
In the sacred volume we find it written, "Great and mar- 
vellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty;" in the same 
volume we also find this exclamation, " How great is his 
goodness, and how great is his beauty!" CZech. ix. 16.) 



50 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

A Being, then, who is infinitely good, as well as infinitely 
powerful ; who is, in short, infinite in everything that is 
great and glorious, how great, how exceedingly great 
must such a Being be! This is the God whom we wor- 
ship and 1 >re; our God forever and ever. "O Lord, 
my God, thou art very, very great!" 

A few inferences, and I have done. 

I. How reasonable it is that we should worship and 
serve this only living and true God. Hence the beautiful 
language of the Psalmist : *' O come, let us sing unto the 
Lord ; let us make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our 
salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanks- 
giving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms, 
for the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all 
gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth; the 
strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he 
made it, and his hands formed the dry land. O come, 
let us worship and bow down ; let us kneel before the 
Lord our Maker, for he is our God, and we are the people 
of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand." Yes, it is rea- 
sonable that we, that all should worship and serve the 
only living and true God, hence the language of the Psalm- 
ist again: "O sing unto the Lord a new song. Sing 
unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord ; bless 
his name. Show forth his salvation from day to day; 
declare his glory among the heathen ; his wonders among 
all people, for the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; 
he is to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the 
nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor 
and majesty are before him, strength and beauty are in 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 



51 



his sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the 
people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give 
unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; bring an 
offering and come into his courts. O worship the Lord 
in the beauty of holiness, fear before him all the earth." 

Before Jehovah's awful throne, 

Ye nations bow with sacred joy, 
Know that the Lord is God alone, 

He can create, and he destroy. 

His sovereign power, without our aid, 

Made us of clay, and formed us men, 
And when like wandering sheep we strayed, 

He brought us to his fold again. 

We are his people, we his care, 

Our souls, and all our mortal frame; 
What lasting honors shall we rear, 

Almighty Maker, to thy name? 

We'll crowd thy gates with thankful songs, 

High as the heavens our voices raise; 
And Earth, with her ten thousand tongues, 

Shall fill thy courts with sounding praise. 

Wide as the world is thy command — 

Vast as eternity thy love — 
Firm as a rock thy truth must stand, 

When rolling years shall cease to move. 1 * 

Alleluia ! The Lord God omnipotent reigneih ! Amen, 
Alleluia 1 

2. How dreadful a thing it must be to have this great 
God for our enemy! — a God so great and powerful, who 
is, literally, everywhere present, and who, literally, can do 
all things! Who can escape his notice, or elude his 



52 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



grasp, or escape his power ? Assuredly, " He that can 
create, and can destroy," — " He that can dash whole 
worlds to death, and make them when he please;" as- 
suredly, he can in a moment hurl the sinner down to hell, 
and chain him there in darkness and despair! Yea, can 
destroy both soul and body in hell, and that forever ! O 
my friends, the apostle says, and truly does the apostle 
say, " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the liv- 
ing God." Let men hate me, let men torment me, let the 
stormy cloud rain thunderbolts upon me, and the terrific 
whirlwind sweep me away, and dash me upon the rugged 
rocks, but let not the great God of heaven and earth be 
mine enemy ! for in the day of his wrath, who shall be 
able to stand? And his wrath, once kindled, burns 
furiously, and burns forever. O sinner ! impenitent sin- 
ner! fear the God who made you. "Who would not fear 
thee, O king of nations ?" says the prophet, "who would 
not fear thee ? for to thee doth it appertain." Surely it is 
right and proper that we should fear what is a proper 
object of fear, and if God be indeed the great God which 
we have proved him to be, certainly it is right and proper 
that he should be feared, hence the language of Peter, 
"Fear God;" and the language of the Psalmist, "Stand 
in av/e, and sin not ;" and this language again, " Tremble 
thou earth at the presence of the Lord, at the presence 
of the God of Jacob ;" and yet many fear not God ! God 
says, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ;" but 
they refuse to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 
God says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
thy God in vain ;" but this command also they daily 



THE 'GREATNESS OF GOD, 



53 



trample upon, as they do many, many others. The fact 
is, many have no fear of God before their eyes, and posi- 
tively treat him as if he were a cipher and worthy of no 
regard, They fear man, but fear not God, who made 
man. They fear the jarring elements, but fear not God 
who controls the jarring elements. Yes, the wrath of 
man, and the violence of conflicting elements, will make 
them tremble and turn pale, but they fear not that God 
■in whom they live and move and have their being ; who 
can, in a moment of time, raise them to heaven, and num- 
ber them with the bright and happy spirits around his 
throne; or sink them down to hell, and link them with 
spirits accursed and damned forever I Surely there is 
madness in the sinner's heart O sinner, fear God > that 
it may be well with you in the latter end. But do not 
misunderstand the matter; when we call upon you to fear 
God, we <lo not call upon you to exercise a slavish, but 
a filial fear 4 and these are widely different The one may 
consist with the deadliest enmity; the other only with 
the liveliest affection. The one is the fear of a slave 
towards a cruel tyrant; the other is the fear of a child 
towards an affectionate parent. The one has nothing of 
true religion in it; the other is the very essence thereof. 
In short, the fear required is the fear of a Joseph, who, 
when tempted' to sin, said, "How can I do this great 
wickedness, and sin against God." And now, my dear 
impenitent friends, remember, you who have no Saviour, 
remember you have not yet made your peace with God, 
and you and God must meet! You have sinned against 
him, lo, these many years ! and be sure your sin will 



54 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



find you out! O what will you do when God shall 
require your soul? What will you do when, amid all the 
terrors of the judgment-day, you shall hear the sound, 
Depart ? 

" O wretched state of deep despair, 
To see my God remove, 
And fix my doleful station where 
I must not taste his love." 

O my unconverted friends I you have slumbered over 
your eternal interests too long j wake up, at last, I beseech 
you, O wake up to the high claims of God and eternity. 
And I would now say, in the language of the Saviour, 
"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in 
the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver 
thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer,' 
and thou be cast into prison ; verily, I say unto thee, thou 
shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid 
the uttermost farthing!" O ! to be lost, and lost forever! 
even forever and ever ! Think upon that, and may God 
have mercy upon your souls ! 

3. How blessed it is to have God upon our side ! If 
God, the great God, be for us, who can be against us ? 
He who is infinite in wisdom and in power, he who has a 
control over all means and agents, what a powerful friend 
and protector must he be ! Hence the language of the 
Psalmist: "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, 
so the Lord is round about his people, from henceforth 
and even forever !" And again : " The Lord is my light 
and my salvation, whom shall I fear ? the Lord is the 
strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" Ah, my 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 



55 



brethren, if God be upon our side, we are safe and happy 
for time and for eternity ! and well may it be said, happy 
is that people who is in such a case, yea, happy is that 
people whose God is the Lord ! This happiness belongs 
to all the truly pious of every place and every age. Yes, 
it is the privilege of each and all such to say with the 
sweet singer of old, "This God is our God for ever and 
ever; he will be our guide even unto death." And again: 
"The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock;" and, in 
the language of our text, " O Lord, my God, thou art 
very great." There is oftentimes great meaning and 
great sweetness in the little pronoun my. And if it be 
pleasant sometimes to be able to say, this is my house, 
my field, my wife, my child, how much more delightful, 
yea, infinitely more delightful, after contemplating the 
grandeur of the Eternal King, to be able to say, "This 
God is our God, forever and ever !" Yes, great and glo- 
rious as he is, this — the Christian may say — this is my 
Heavenly Father, the friend and portion of my soul. 
Very pleasant, therefore, must have been the feelings of 
the Psalmist when the uttered the language of our text, 
"O Lord, my God, thou art very great." This is the 
language of joy, of triumph, and of complete exultation, 
reminding us of the well known language of Moses, 
"Their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies them- 
, ^lves being judges." My brethren, I repeat it, if God be 
v r us, who can be against us? He is a shield and buck- 
ler to his people on earth, and afterwards he will receive 
them to glory. He was a shield to the patriarch Jacob. 
You recollect this man of God, having been improperly 



56 



REVIVAL SERMONS* 



treated by his father-in-law, Laban, leaves him, and with 
his family and all that he has, sets out on his journey to 
see his father Isaac, who was still alive. When Laban 
heard that Jacob was gone, he gathered a force and pur- 
sued after him, resolved, it seems, to bring him back. 
The very night, however, before he came up with Jacob, N 
the Lord appeared to Laban the Syrian in a dream, and 
said unto him, Speak not a word to Jacob, good or bad. 
The next day he overtakes Jacob, and still wrathful, he 
said, It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt, but 
the Lord God of your fathers appeared to me yesternight, 
saying, Speak not a word to Jacob, good or bad. O 
Lord of hosts, blessed is the man to whom thou art a 
shield and buckler ! Jacob, thus protected, continues his 
journey. On his way to the dwelling-place of Isaac, he 
must needs pass by Mount Seir, the dwelling-place of 
Esau. It will be recollected that, some twenty years 
before, Esau had threatened that he would slay Jacob. 
Drawing near to Mount Seir, and remembering this, 
Jacob sends messengers to Esau to conciliate him. Esau 
deigned no reply, and Jacob's messengers returned to 
him, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he 
cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him ; 
then Jacob was greatly afraid, and he divided the people 
that were with him, and the flocks and the herds, and the 
camels, into two bands, and said, If Esau come to the one 
company and smite it, then the other company which is 
left shall escape. Having made this arrangement, he 
turned aside to pray, and we may judge of the feelings 
of his heart from the words of his lips: "O God of my 



THE GREATNESS OF GOD. 57 

father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, deliver me, 
I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand 
of Esau, for I fear him lest he come and smite me, and 
the mother with the children/' And now the moment of 
meeting arrives ; and as Esau lifted up his eyes and be- 
held Jacob his brother, the Lord touched Esau's heart, 
and he ran to meet his brother, and embraced him, and 
fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept ! O Lord 
of hosts, blessed is the man whom thou dost shield and 
protect! The Lord can hold the enemy in check by a 
vision of the night, or by converting a heart of enmity 
into a heart of love ! yea, in many ways. Take one case 
more : Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, had sworn that Elijah 
should not live another day. Elijah hears of the threat, 
and went a day's journey into the wilderness, and sat 
down under a juniper tree. Methinks I see this venera- 
ble man under the juniper tree. He is in great sadness. 
Methinks I hear him sigh; methinks I see the tears 
trickling down his furrowed cheeks. But now he prays, 
and we may judge of the feelings of his heart from the 
language of his lips. It is enough now, O Lord, said he; 
take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers. 
And now, my brethren, see that Elijah who would 
willingly have died under the juniper tree, without a 
friend to close his eyes or dig his grave — only see ! the 
heavens are opened ! the heavens are opened ! and 
lo! a chariot of fire and horses of fire descend, and 
that good man, who would fain have died under 
the juniper tree, without a friend to close his eyes 
or dig his grave — only see how he is rapt away in tri- 



58 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



umph to the bosom of his God in glory! Of a truth, "he 
has found a most secure abode, who has made his refuge 
God," " The Lord is thy keeper," says the Psalmist ; 
V the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun 
shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil ; he shall 
preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going 
out and thy coming in, from this time forth and even for 
evermore." So that we may say to the humblest child 
of God, 

*« Go and return secure from death, 
Till God command thee home." 

Then comes joy, heavenly joy; bliss, unutterable and 
everlasting bliss! O, think what a full tide of joy an 
infinite God can pour into our souls through all the ages 
of eternity! O, my brethren, believe me, riches are 
nothing; honors are nothing; worldly pleasures are 
nothing; thrones and kingdoms nothing, in comparison 
with the favor of God. Thy favor, O God, is life ; thy 
loving kindness is better than life; for if God, the great 
God of heaven and earth, be for us, who can be against 
us? O! then seek his favor, and may you never rest 
until you find sweet repose in the bosom of a God recon- 
ciled through the mediation of his Son. Amen. 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 59 



SERMON III. 

CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 

Who, being In the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with Gods 
but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
and was made in the likeness of men • and being found in fashion as a man, he 
humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is 
above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things 
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every 
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 
—Phil. ii. 6—11. 

In these words, my brethren, we have — 

I. The mediatorial character, work, and glory of Christ; 
and 

II. The grand design of the whole. 

I. The mediatorial character, work, and glory of Christ 
By the mediatorial character of Christ, we are to under- 
stand, not his essential, but his official character — that 
which he, as Mediator, sustains in the economy of man's 
redemption. Had man never existed; or existing, had 
never fallen; or fallen, had never been redeemed, the 
Eternal Son of God had never assumed the name of J^sus 
Christ or Mediator. This is, unquestionably, that new 
name spoken of in the book of Revelation, iii. 12, and 
that name which is above every name, made mention of 
in the passage now before us. Entering upon the glorious 
work of man's redemption, he assumes a new name, and 
sustains a new character. This character is commonly 



6o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



denominated his mediatorial character. The scope of 
our text would lead us, however, to speak, not so much 
of those offices which belong to the mediatorial character 
of Christ, as of that union of the human and cfivine nature 
in the person of Christ upon which the mediatorial cha- 
racter is founded, and which, indeed, gives to it all its 
dignity, and sweetness, and excellence, and perfection. 
Here it will be necessary for us, by sound scriptural argu- 
ment, to establish this proposition, that Jesus Christ, as 
Mediator, possesses two natures — the divine and human — 
in mysterious, yet all- harmonious union. This is a doctrine 
of prime importance. It lies at the very foundation of 
the whole Christian system ; and with it, the most pre- 
cious hopes of the believer must live or die. No wonder, 
then, if we be tenacious for this doctrine; no wonder if 
we cling to it as the miser clings to his gold; for "if the 
foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" 
In establishing this point, we shall adduce only one argu- 
ment, with some collateral proofs — I say only one argu- 
ment, but that humbly conceived to be both clear and 
unanswerable — it is this: In this volume, the Bible, there 
are certain things affirmed of Jesus Christ which can pro- 
perly be affirmed only of the human nature.; and yet, in 
the very same volume, certain other things are affirmed 
of him which can properly be affirmed only of the divine 
nature. Now these two classes of affirmations, in the 
very nature of the case, cannot be true, except on the 
principle that Jesus Christ possesses, as we have said, 
both the human and divine nature, in mysterious, yet all- 
harmonious union. How do we prove that a living man 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



61 



possesses both a soul and body in union ? Very much 
in this way. Speaking of this man, for example, I say 
that he has flesh, bones, blood, and is mortal. These 
things, we all see, belong not to his soul, but to his body, 
and prove — what ? Certainly, that he has a true body. 
Yet, speaking of the very same individual, I change my 
language, and also affirm that he has memory, will, and 
understanding, and is immortal. Now here is a new set 
of attributes, which evidently belong not to the body, 
but to the soul, and prove — what ? Assuredly, that this 
man has also a soul, a reasonable soul. The connecting 
link between the soul and the body may be unseen ; the 
union may be absolutely inscrutable. It matters not; 
the facts are clear, and therefore the inference is irresisti- 
ble: this man has, in himself, mind and matter united; 
he has both a soul and a body, in mysterious, yet all- 
harmonious union. Now let us bring this principle of 
reasoning to bear upon the case in hand. And first, with 
regard to the human nature of Christ. Here we need 
not enlarge; the doctrine is not controverted; we need 
only remind you of those passages of Scripture which 
tell us plainly that Jesus Christ was born of a woman ; 
was made under the law — and that he wept, hungered, 
thirsted, died ! These things, we all see, appertain not 
to the divine nature, but to the human, and prove — what? 
Certainly, that Jesus Christ possessed the human nature; 
was very man, had a true body, and a reasonable soul ; 
was as truly a man as any in this assembly. This is a 
precious doctrine ; we have never denied it — the apostle 
never did; his language is this: "Forasmuch as the 



62 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



children were partakers of flesh and blood, he also him- 
self took part of the same." 

But with regard to the second point, that in connection 
with the human nature our Saviour also possessed a 
nature, strictly speaking, divine. Notice the affirmations 
in our text: "Who, being in the form of God, thought it 
not robbery to be equal with God." Here are two affir- 
mations, having reference to the supreme divinity of 
Christ. Take the first, " Who, being in the form of God." 
Here, the apostle affirms that, originally, Jesus Christ 
was in the form of God. Now as God is an infinite Spirit, 
possessed of incommunicable attributes, and arrayed in 
peerless, uncreated glory, it is very certain that no mere 
creature can possess the real form of God; and that it is 
the real, and not assimilated form of God, is evident from 
what the apostle says in his Epistle to the Hebrews (i. 3), 
where he declares Jesus Christ to be the brightness of the 
Father's glory, and the express image of his person. " The 
brightness of His glory." Now as the brightness of the 
natural sun in the heavens is of the same nature and date 
with that great luminary itself, and may be distinguished, 
but not separated, even so, in the unity of the Godhead, 
the Father and the Son are in essence one and the same, 
co-equal, co-eternal. They may be distinguished, but 
not separated. When, therefore, the apostle declares that 
Jesus Christ was in the form of God, the idea is this, that 
Jesus Christ possesses in Himself, really and substantially, 
all the perfections of God the Father's person. 

In confirmation of this, notice the following re- 
markable facts: t. That the sublimest works of the 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 63 

Supreme God are ascribed to Christ. Is creation the work 
of God? No man denies it; and yet John tells us that 
"All things were made by Him; and without Him was 
not anything made that was made." (John i. 3.) Is pre- 
servation the work of God? Who denies that? And 
yet Paul tells us that Jesus Christ upholdeth all things by 
the word of his power. (Heb. i. 3.) Is the work of resur- 
rection the work of God? Who but an omnipotent God 
can wake up the slumbering nations of the dead, whose 
ashes have been scattered to the four winds of heaven ; 
buried, it may be, beneath the mountain's base and the 
ocean's wave? Yet the blessed Saviour says, '7am the 
resurrection and the life; I will raise him up at the last 
day." (John xi. 25.) Is the work of final judgment the 
work of God ? The Bible says expressly, God is Judge 
himself; and yet the apostle says, "We must all appear 
before the judgment-seat of Christ." (2 Cor. v. 10.) 

But the doctrine before us falls in with another remarka- 
ble fact, that the sublimest names of the Supreme God 
are given to Jesus Christ, viz : God; thus the Everlasting 
Father, addressing the Son, says, " Thy throne, O God, is 
forever and ever." (Heb. i. 8.) "True God;" thus John 
says, "Jesus Christ, this is the true God." (1 John v. 20.) 
" Mighty God." (Isa. ix. 6.) " The Lord of Glory." (1 Cor. 
ii. 8.) "The Prince of Life." (Acts iii. 15.) "The First 
and the Last." (Rev. ii. 8.) "The Almighty." (Rev. i. 8.) 
" Over all, God blessed forever." (Rom. ix. 5.) Now, give 
these names to Peter, or to Paul, to Michael, to Gabriel, 
t the loftiest angel in heaven, and there is blasphemy in 
it; and yet they are given to Christ, and that, too, by 



64 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

those who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 
This can be accounted for only by the fact stated, that 
Jesus Christ possesses in himself, really and substantially, 
all the perfections of God the Father's person. And 
notice how this doctrine falls in with another remarkable 
fact, that the sublimest honors of the Supreme God are 
given to Jesus Christ. Witness the language of Thomas : 
" My Lord, and my God." Witness what is said of 
Stephen, the first martyr: "And they stoned Stephen, 
calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my 
spirit." Witness the form of baptism: "In the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Now, 
whatever is to be implied in the name of the Father, is of 
course also to be implied in the name of the Son. But 
hark! paeans are sounding in the world above ! "Worthy 
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, 
and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and 
blessing." (Rev. v. 12.) There is no adoration loftier 
than this; no worship more, strictly speaking, divine; yet 
Jesus Christ is the object of it. What makes this matter 
more remarkable is this: it is written, "Thou shalt wor- 
ship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." 
Accordingly, we find that no good man, no good angel, 
ever consented to receive divine honors. No good man. 
Paul and Barnabas were good men : having wrought a 
stupendous miracle at Lystra, the people cried out, in the 
language of Lycaonia, "The gods have come down to us 
in the likeness of men :" and the priests of Jupiter brought 
oxen and garlands to the gates of the city, and would 
have done sacrifice with the people — would have paid 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



65 



Paul and Barnabas divine honors, Did these good men 
consent? They rent their clothes, and ran in amongst 
the people, crying out and saying, "Sirs! why do ye 
these things? we are men of like passions with you." No 
good angel ever consented to receive divine honors. You 
recollect a good angel once appeared to John, in the Isle 
of Patm^s. John, dazzled by the effulgence of his splen- 
dor, fell down at his feet to worship him. Did this good 
angel consent to receive this divine honor? He was in 
haste to repel it; "I am thy fellow-servant — worship 
God." See then, how good men and angels all point to 
Supreme divinity as the only proper object of religious 
worship and adoration. 

Now, is it not remarkable that the blessed Saviour him- 
self appeared to the same John, in the same Isle of Pat- 
mos, and John, dazzled by the effulgence of his splendor, 
fell down at his feet also? Did He then give the holy 
apostle any charge against worshipping Him? Mark the 
difference ! He laid his right hand upon him, saying, 
" Fear not, I am the First and the Last ! I am He that 
liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, 
amen; and have the keys of hell and of death!" And 
this reminds me of that sublime doxology uttered by th^ 
same exile in Patmos, in his own name and that of the 
whole church, militant and triumphant: "Unto Him that 
loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his 
Father; to Him be glory and dominion, forever and ever." 
Mark, " to Him who loved us and washed us from our 
sins in his own blood — to Him be glory and dominion, 



66 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



forever and ever." Let any being be invested with glory 
and dominion forever and ever, and he is invested with 
the honors Of Supreme divinity— he ascends the throne 
of the universe, and he is inaugurated God over all. 
These things, in relation to Jesus Christ, are very remarka- 
ble, and can be explained, as I humbly conceive, only on 
the ground already stated, that Jesus Christ possesses in 
Himself, really and substantially, all the perfections of God 
the Father's person. In confirmation of this position, 
take this passage of Scripture: "Philip saith unto Him, 
Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus 
saith^unto him, " Have I been so long time with you, and 
yet hast thou not known me, Philip ? He that hath seen 
me hath seen the Father: and how sayest thou then, 
Show us the Father ? Believest thou not that I am in 
the Father, and the Father in me?" (John xiv. 8, 9, IC.) 
To crown the matter, notice how the apostle expresses 
the doctrine almost in the very words which we have 
uttered: "In Him (Jesus Christ) dwelleth all the fulness 
of the Godhead bodily." (Col. ii. 9.) How strong is this 
language! Every word emphatic ! In him, Jesus Christ, 
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. If this 
does not express the idea of God incarnate — literally God 
incarnate — what idea does it present? And here I would 
remark — as thought, written or uttered, is thought em- 
bodied; so Christ, in human form, is God made manifest 
in the flesh. 

Having introduced the term " Godhead," permit me to 
make a remark or two touching the mysterious and sub- 
lime doctrine of the Trinity. Some stumble at it, and 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



67 



why? On the supposed ground of its involving an ab- 
surdity. Now, we positively affirm, that the doctrine of 
a triune God, as we receive it, does not involve even the 
shadow of an absurdity ; for, when we say that there are 
three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost, and these three are one God, the same 
in substance, equal in power and glory — observe, we do 
not say that they are three in the same sense in which 
they are one ; nor one in the same sense in which they 
are three. That would be an absurdity : we simply say, 
in one sense three, in another sense one. Is there any- 
thing incredible in this ? By no means. Rain, hail, and 
snow, are three distinctions of one and the very same ele- 
ment. And although I would not say that rain is hail, 
nor that hail is snow, yet I will say, what I have a right 
to say, and what is certainly most true — in substance one ; 
in distinction three. Just so with regard to the unity of 
the Godhead. Although I would not say that the Father 
is the Son, nor the Son the Holy Ghost, yet I will say, 
what I have a right to say, and what is certainly a great 
Bible truth — in essence one ; in distinction three. Do I 
introduce this illustration to explain the mode of the 
divine subsistence? Certainly not. I cannot explain the 
mode of my own existence ; how then can I explain that 
of my Maker, who is an infinite Spirit? I introduce the 
illustration, simply to show that there is no occasion for 
stumbling here, particularly when we remember that it is 
written, "Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst 
thou find out the Almighty to perfection ? It is high as 
heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst 



68 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the 
earth — it is broader than the sea."* 

But to resume the argument touching the supreme 
divinity of Christ: take the second affirmation in our text 
«— " Thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Now, 
as a good writer observes, If Jesus Christ thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God, it was no robbery; and if 
no robbery, he was equal ; and if equal, he must be God. 
But some one may say, " If Jesus Christ be, strictly speak- 
ing, a divine person >t> how can he, being divine, being God, 
be said to be equal with God ? Will not this, then, imply 
that there are two Gods, equal, separate, and indepen- 
dent?" I answer, that in a matter so far removed beyond 

* According to philosophers, and, what is incomparably better, according 
to the apostle Paul, man himself, who is said to have been made after the 
similitude of God — yes, man himself consists of three distinctions: body, 
soul, and spirit. I Thess. v. 23. By the body, we understand the material 
frame ; by the soul, the animal life, which we have in common with the 
brutes that perish ; and by the spirit, (usually called the soul,) the immortal 
principle. Now here, we perceive, even in ourselves, according to this 
statement, a threefold existence, not only in union, but in unity. Why then 
should we stumble at the doctrine of the Trinity as revealed in the sacred 
Volume ? The truth is, in our catechisms, creeds, and confessions, the doc- 
trine of the Trinity is presented, if I may so speak, in a skeleton form, and 
therefore presented to great disadvantage, for no skeleton has any charms ; 
but in the sacred volume, it is presented in living beauty, each person in the 
adorable Godhead being there presented as sustaining some peculiar office in 
the economy of redemption. For example: the Father is represented as 
planning the glorious scheme of man's redemption ; the Son as executing 
that scheme, and the Holy Ghost as applying to all believers the benefits of 
that planned and purchased redemption, and thus exhibiting the Godhead 
to a ruined world, in glorious, yet distinct manifestations. 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



6 9 



all comparison and all similitude, illustrations are rarely 
proper. I will, however, introduce one, simply to show 
that the thing is by no means incredible. Water, in a 
vessel, may subsist under two forms ; as a fluid and as a 
solid ; or as water and ice. They may be compared with 
each other, and one may be said to be equal with the 
other ; but if you do not like our interpretation, here is 
the passage, and what will you do with it ?* — " Thought 
it not robbery to be equal with God." If Jesus Christ 
possess not a nature, strictly speaking, divine, he must of 
course be a mere creature — a finite being! My brethren, 
you may compare a grain of sand with the whole earth ; 
a drop of water with the mighty ocean; and even a ray of 
light with yonder stupendous orb of day ; but, verily, you 
may not compare a creature with the uncreated God ; nor 
that which is finite with that which is infinite. In no sense 
whatever can there be an equality — with no propriety 
whatever can there be even a comparison. The case 
then is clear, Jesus Christ is God : that is, possesses in 
himself, really and substantially, all the perfections of God 
the Father's person. We have shown that Jesus Christ 
possesses also a human nature. Our great doctrine then 
is established, that Jesus Christ, as Mediator, possesses 
two natures, the divine and human, in mysterious, yet all- 
harmonious union ! Ah ! this mysterious union ! Some 
stumble at the mystery of the incarnation ; and is not the 

* I am aware that those who reject our doctrine, give another rendering 
to this passage, and indeed to every passage which we have quoted, or shall 
yet quote, numerous as they are. Strange that so many passages should 
have been wrongly translated ! 

\ 



7o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



union of soul and body in man a mystery? and yet who 
stumbles at this ? Having evidence of the fact, we believe 
the one; why not, having evidence of the fact, believe 
the other also ? But was the apostle Paul aware of the 
mystery? He was. Did he stumble at it? I give you 
his own words; you can judge as well as I. "Without 
controversy," says he, " great is the mystery of godliness. 
God was manifest in the flesh." I Tim. iii. 6. Observe : 
he admits it to be a mystery — he goes farther; he admits 
it to be a great mystery; moreover, he would have us to 
understand that there is no use to have any controversy 
upon this point. The mystery of the incarnation is not 
denied. "Without controversy, great is the mystery of 
godliness. God was manifest in the flesh." Now if the 
apostle did not stumble at the mystery of the human and 
divine nature in the person of Christ, neither do I — nay, 
more, he gloried in it, Rom. ix. 5 ; and therefore so will 
I. And, indeed, well may we all ; for, as I shall now 
show you, if it be a mystery, it is a blessed mystery — full 
of sweetness as well as full of wonder; for, observe — 

I. How essential the twofold nature of Christ is to the 
various parts of his mediatorial work. For example : he 
must have a human nature to obey the law which man 
had violated, and thus to magnify the law and make it 
honorable; but it is equally necessary, in this matter, 
that he should have a divine nature also, to give merit to 
his obedience. Suppose that Jesus Christ were a mere 
man — what could his obedience avail ? He would have 
to say, as we do, I am an unprofitable servant; I have 
done no more than was my duty : but, according to the 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



71 



Scriptures, by his obedience shall many be made right- 
eous. So he must have a human nature to obey the law, 
and the divine nature to stamp value upon that obedience. 
Again: he must have a human nature to suffer, and the 
divine nature to give efficacy to those sufferings. Yes, 
according to the Scriptures, the Mediator must suffer, as 
it is written, " He must suffer many things of the elders, 
and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third 
day rise again." Matt. xvi. 21. And again: " It behoved 
Christ to suffer." Luke xxiv. 46. And again : " Ought 
not Christ to have suffered these things ?" Luke xxiv. 26. 
Nay more, it is written, " Without the shedding of blood 
there is no remission." Heb. ix. 22. In order to make 
an atonement, then, Christ must become a substitutionary 
sacrifice — must suffer; but the divine nature cannot suf- 
fer, cannot be wounded for our transgressions, nor bruised 
for our iniquities; hence, Christ must have a human na- 
ture, to suffer; but here again it is equally necessary that 
he should have a divine nature, as we have stated, to 
give efficacy to his sufferings; for, suppose Jesus Christ 
were no more than a mere man, what could his sufferings 
avail ? The martyrs suffered much — their blood flowed 
in torrents ! but we never hear that the blood of the 
martyrs availed to the washing away of a single sin of 
their own ; but with regard to this mysterious sufferer, it 
is said, " His blood cleanseth from all sin." 1 John i. 7. 
And again : " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
away the sin of the world !" John i. 29. Thus you per- 
ceive it is necessary that Jesus Christ, as Mediator, should 
possess a human nature to suffer, and also a divine nature 



72- 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



to give efficacy to those sufferings. But some man may 
say, " Sir, you have thrown some light upon this point, 
but the point is not clear yet. You say that the human 
nature cannot merit, nor the divine nature suffer; then, 
after all, how can the sufferings of the human nature of 
Christ have so much efficacy ?" I reply, there is no dif- 
ficulty here at all. Here is a clod of earth. In that form 
you may strike it about at pleasure — no harm done; but 
let this clod of earth be formed into the body of a man ; 
let it be united to the soul of a man, a prince, a king, a 
conqueror; and, verily, you may not now strike it about 
at your pleasure ! Who does not see that an injury done 
to that clod of earth, in its new form, as united to the 
soul of a man, a prince, a king, a conqueror, is, to all 
intents and purposes, the same as an injury done to the 
soul of that man, that prince, that king, that conqueror? 
The case, then, is simply this : Although the human na- 
ture of Christ could not merit, nor his divine nature suf- 
fer, yet by virtue of the union of the human and divine 
nature in the person of Christ, the sufferings of the human 
are as if they were the sufferings of the divine nature, 
•f It is the altar which sanctifies the gift." The Saviour 
himself furnishes the illustration. The divine nature is 
the altar, the human nature of Christ is the victim offered 
upon that altar, and the altar sanctifies the gift — the very 
illustration of Christ himself! 

But again : Christ, as Mediator, must have a human 
nature to have a brother's heart ; a divine nature, to have 
an almighty arm. You recollect that when God descend- 
ed, in terrible majesty, upon Sinai's awful mount, the peo- 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



73 



pie, greatly alarmed, removed and stood afar off, and said 
unto Moses, "Speak thou with us, and we will hear, but 
let not God speak with us, lest we die." Nay, even Moses 
himself exclaimed, " I do exceedingly fear and quake 1" 
How natural, then, to wish, with the man of Uz, that 
there were some days-man to lay his hand upon both 
parties. In our blessed Redeemer this desire is fully 
met; for, as we have said, he has a human nature to 
have a brother's heart, a divine nature to have an almighty 
arm. Both natures are equally necessary, for suppose 
that Christ had a human nature only, then certainly he 
could have a brother's heart, could sympathize with us, 
being touched with a fellow-feeling of our infirmities, and 
this would be soothing ; but if this were all, amid all his 
tender sympathies we might sink down in hopeless sor- 
row ! But O! delightful truth! our Mediator is, in all 
respects, fitted for his appointment. As a man he has all 
the innocent sensibilities of our nature: 

4t He knows what sore temptations mean, 
For He has felt the same." 

"We have not an High Priest," says the apostle, "who 
cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities, but 
was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." 
Yes, it is even so : 

** He, in the days of feeble flesh, 
Poured out his cries and tears; 
And in his measure felt afresh 
What every member bears." 

This is a precious doctrine. The human nature of Christ 



74 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



brings him very near to our hearts, and the idea that, 
exalted as he is, he can be touched with a fellow-feeling 
of our infirmities, is, I repeat it, very soothing; but if 
this were all, what would it avail to the saving of our 
souls? No! He must have something more than sym- 
pathy, he must have power. He must have something 
more than a brother's heart ; he must have an almighty 
arm ! and, according to our doctrine, so it is : hence, in 
the Scriptures, he is presented to us as one able to save 
unto the uttermost. Heb. vii. 25. O glorious Mediator! 
O precious Redeemer! One who has all the glories of a 
God, attempered with the milder beauties of a perfect 
man ! One so distant, and yet so near ! Only think, my 
brethren, (sweet thought !) our blessed Saviour has a 
human nature, to have a brother's heart ! — a divine nature, 
to have an almighty arm ! 

" Till God in human flesh I see, 
My thoughts no comfort find ; 
The Holy, Just, and Sacred Three 
Are terrors to my mind ; 

But if Immanuel's face appear 

My hope, my joy begins 
His name forbids my slavish fear, 

His grace removes my sins. 

While Jews on their own law rely, 

And Greeks of wisdom boast, 
I love th' incarnate mystery, 

And there I fix my trust." 

If the twofold nature of Christ be a mystery (and I deny 
it not), it is a blessed mystery, full of sweetness as well 
as full of wonder ; for, observe— 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



75 



2. How beautifully it falls in with the account given of 
our blessed Saviour, whilst he tabernacled here on earth. 
In this account, circumstances of humility and circum- 
stances of grandeur are made strangely and sweetly to 
blend together in the person of Christ; pointing out, at 
the same time, both his human and divine nature. See 
the blessed Saviour, born in Bethlehem; born of a woman, 
and laid in a manger! Here are circumstances of humil- 
ity, pointing out his human nature; but mark the circum- 
stances of grandeur proclaiming his divine nature. A 
star announces his birth, and angels sing his natal song! 
See him at the grave of Lazarus ! He weeps like a man; 
and then, with authority, says, 4< Lazarus, come forth !" 
like a God. Approaching the barren fig-tree, he hungers 
like a man; and then, with a word, withers the fig-tree 
away, like a God. During a raging storm on the sea of 
Tiberias, he lay in the hinder part of the ship, with his 
head upon a pillow ; he slept like a man; being called 
upon, he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, like a 
God. Having wrought a stupendous miracle, he goes 
into a mountain apart to pray, like a man; and at the 
fourth watch of the night, he comes to his disciples, walk- 
ing upon the water, like a God. As a man, he pays tribute 
money; as a God t he causes a fish of the deep to bring 
to him the tribute money. Disciples of Christ! O see 
your Saviour on yonder bloody tree ! nailed to the cross, 
he suffers, like a man; and yet, in the midst of his suffer- 
ings, he opens the gates of Paradise to the dying thief, 
like a God. And see, too, in yonder sepulchre — alas ! in 
yonder sepulchre, the hope of Israel, wrapped in the 



7 6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



winding-sheet, lies, pale and cold in death, like a man; 
but lo ! in the morning of the third day, by his own im- 
mortal energies, he burst the bands of death, and arose 
triumphant, like a God I And see him, too, after his 
resurrection : he meets with his disciples, takes a piece 
of a broiled fish, and of an honey-comb, and did eat with 
them, like a man; and then he leads them out to Bethany 
and blesses them, and as he blesses them, he ascends in 
a cloud in radiant majesty, far above all heavens, a God 
confessed! God is gone up with a shout ! The Lord 
with the sound of a trumpet! Sing praises unto God; 
sing praises! Sing praises unto our King; sing praises! 

"All hail the power of Jesus' name! 
Let angels prostrate fall ; 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 
And crown him Lord of all t" 

3. If the union of the human and divine nature in the 
person of Christ be a mystery, it is a blessed mystery, for 
it serves very clearly and beautifully to harmonize many 
passages of Scripture which on no other principle, I verily 
believe, can be made to harmonize. For example: In 
one place Jesus Christ is called a man ; in another place, 
God. Heb. i. 8. In one place, David's Son, Matt. xxii. 
42. In another place, David's Lord. Matt. xxii. 45. In 
one place he says, " My Father is greater than I ;" John 
x. 29; in another place, "I and my Father are one." John 
x. 30. In one place he is said to be a Lamb slain ; in 
another place, the Prince of Life, who only hath immor- 
tality.* Now deny our doctrine, and I defy any man on 

* Compare Acts iii. 15; Rev. xix. 16; 1 Tim. vi. 15, 16. 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



77 



earth, or angel in heaven, to reconcile these passages. 
Admit the doctrine, and all is beautiful and harmonious. 
With regard to his human nature, Jesus Christ is a man; 
with regard to his divine nature, God; with regard to his 
human nature he is David's Son ; with regard to his 
divine nature, David's Lord. Referring to his human 
nature, or official character, he can say, v< My Father is 
greater than I ;" referring to his divine nature, or essen- 
tial character, he can say, *' I and my Father are one." 
As to his human nature, he is a Lamb slain; as to his 
divine nature, the Prince of Life, who only hath immor- 
tality. And now, to put the beauteous crown upon the 
whole, and to convince you that this is indeed the true 
scriptural doctrine, hear the words of the Saviour himself; 
*' £ am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and 
morning star." Now this is a very remarkable passage 
of Scripture, and should settle the doctrine of the twofold 
nature of Christ forever; for observe, if Jesus Christ pos- 
sessed the divine nature, and that only, he could most 
assuredly be David's root, the source of David^s being ; 
but in this case, how could he be David's offspring? On 
the other hand, if Jesus Christ possessed the human 
nature, and that only, he could then certainly be David's 
offspring; but here again, how, in this case, could he be 
David's root ? the source of David's being ? But possess- 
ing both the human and divine nature, he can say, as he 
does say, *' I am the root and offspring of David, and the 
bright and morning star;" evidently referring to his media- 
torial character. " Rising," as one remarks, " in his incar- 
nation, as the bright and morning star, he introduced the 



78 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



gospel day; rising as the bright and morning star in the 
influences of his spirit, he introduces the day of grace and 
comfort in the sinner's soul ; and rising, at last, in his 
bright appearing, to judge the world, he will to his saints 
usher in the coronation-day— the day of a blest eternity. 
Bright and morning Star ! Star of hope to the dying sin- 
ner ! Star of hope to a sinking world ! O shine upon 
this heart of mine P' 

. Having considered the mediatorial character of Christ, 
let us next consider his mediatorial work. And by this 
we are to understand all that our blessed Saviour did and 
suffered to achieve the redemption of man, commonly 
termed his active and passive obedience. It would very 
far transcend the limits of this discourse, to lay before 
you in detail all the varied parts of the mediatorial work 
of Christ ; nor is it necessary on the present occasion, for 
by a very common figure of speech, a 'part is here put for 
the whole; the apostle summing up the whole in the 
humiliation of Christ, and this, with singular propriety, 
in the connection of our text, inasmuch as his deep 
humiliation on earth is here presented in striking contrast 
with the august dignity which he originally had, when, 
being in the form of God, he thought it not robbery to be 
equal with God. In this astonishing humiliation there 
are several steps. 

I. " He was made in the likeness of men." That is, 
He who originally " was the brightness of the Father's 
glory, and the express image of his person," was, in his 
incarnation, so veiled, so clouded, that he no longer 
appeared in the form of God, but in the likeness of men. 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 79 

" Forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and 
blood," says the apostle, " he also himself took part of 
the same." What a stoop of condescension ! The Prince 
of Life, and Lord of Glory, in the likeness of men I 

" Harp ! lift thy voice on high ! 
Shout angels! shout aloud ye sons of men, 
And burn my heart with th' eternal flame!" 

2. "He took upon him the form of a servant." Ob- 
serve! This glorious One not only took upon him human 
nature, but human nature in a low condition: "He took 
upon him," says our text, " the form of a servant ;" not 
the form of a prince, or a king, but the form of a servant. 
How wonderful is this ! Nor was he ashamed to take 
this step of humiliation for the good of man; he rather 
gloried in it: and how touching are his allusions to this 
very thing! "The Son of Man," says he, V came not to 
be ministered unto, but to minister;" that is, to act the 
part of a servant. And again said he to his disciples, 
" Whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that 
serveth ? Is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among 
you as he that serveth." Blessed Jesus ! But most em- 
phatically did our great Redeemer assume the form of a 
servant, when, rising from the paschal supper, he laid 
aside his garment, and took a towel and girded himself, 
and having poured water into a basin, he began to wash 
his disciples' feet with water, and to wipe them with the 
towel wherewith he was girded. And this is the Saviour 
that made my mother sing in death! — the same Jesus, 
who, as thousands have testified, "can make a dying bed 



8o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



feel soft as downy pillows are." Sinner! this is the 
Saviour whom you neglect! Is this thy kindness to thy 
friend ? 

3. " He made himself of no reputation." Even some 
servants have a high character, and are greatly esteemed, 
but the Lord of glory, in his mysterious incarnation, vol- 
untarily places himself in those circumstances in which 
he received not the honors due to his name. " He came 
unto his own," says the apostle, "and his own received 
him not." Although he was the Rose of Sharon, and 
the Lily of the Valleys, yet he was esteemed as a root 
out of a dry ground, having no form nor comeliness ; nay, 
more, as predicted of him, he was despised and rejected 
of men ! a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. O ! 
tell me, did not our blessed Saviour appear as one with- 
out reputation when the Samaritans refused to receive 
him into their villages ? when the Gadarenes besought 
him to depart out of their coast? and when the men of 
his own city, Nazareth, led him to the brow of the hill 
upon which their city was built, to cast him down head- 
long, as one unfit to live? O ! tell me, did not the Saviour 
of lost men appear as one without reputation, when he 
was openly rejected by the chief priests and Pharisees, 
and reproachfully called a gluttonous man and a wine- 
bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners? when he was 
betrayed by one disciple, denied by another, and forsaken 
by all? when the multitude came out against him, as 
against a thief, with swords and staves, to take him? See 
him arrested as a prisoner; bound as a culprit; hurried 
to the hall of Caiaphas; taken to Pilate's judgment bar; 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 8 1 

sent to Herod; mocked by the soldiers; crowned with 
thorns ; arrayed in a gorgeous robe, and then sent back 
to Pilate again. O, see him at Pilate's bar! False wit- 
nesses rise up against him ! — none dare appear in his 
behalf! The hall, the court, the very heavens ring with 
the cry, "Crucify him! crucify him!" A prisoner must 
needs be released at the feast, and Barabbas is preferred ! 
O, my soul ! think upon this ! — Barabbas, a robber, was 
preferred to the blessed Jesus ! — Barabbas, a murderer, to 
the spotless Son of God ! And now he is condemned ! 
not by the voice of law, but by the clamor of popular 
fury. Pilate, it is true, calls for water, and washing his 
hands in the presence of the people, says, " I am innocent 
of the blood of this just man," yet gives him over into the 
hands of his enemies! And now what a scene of still 
deeper humiliation is presented ! The blessed Saviour is 
blindfolded ! he is smitten upon the cheek ! he is spitted 
upon! he is buffeted! he is scourged! — Only think, 
scourged! And this is the One who, according to the 
Scriptures, shall hereafter be seen coming in the clouds 
of heaven, with power and great glory ! O the strength 
of a Saviour's love! how astonishing does it appear when 
measured by the humiliation to which he submitted for 
our sakes ! He made himself of no reputation! But 
there is yet another step of still deeper humiliation stated 
in our text. 

4. " He humbled himself and became obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross !" That the Prince of 
Life and Lord of Glory should die any death, however 
easy and honorable, is past all comprehension! But 



82 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



such a death ! — the death of the cross ! — a death so shame- 
ful — so ignominious and so accursed ! — so bitter, so cruel, 
and so bloody, too ! How were the rugged nails driven 
into his sacred hands and feet! How did his precious 
blood gush forth, stream down, and smoke upon the 
ground! O sinner! sinner! you know not the strength 
of a Saviour's love — you know not the tenderness of the 
dear Redeemer's heart ! He died for you ! died on the 
cross for you ! and yet you slight him every day — turn 
your back upon him, and even trample under foot his 
precious blood ! Hard-hearted, iron-hearted sinner ! how 
could you serve your loving, dying Saviour so ? " Hearts 
of stone ! relent ! relent !" — " Father forgive them, they 
know not what they do !" Having considered the media- 
torial character and work of Christ, we are next to con- 
template his mediatorial glory. 

By the mediatorial glory of Christ, we are to understand 
all that our blessed Redeemer receives, in his twofold 
nature, as the reward of his mediatorial work. To this 
there is a reference in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah; 
and upon this the apostle delights to expatiate. His lan- 
guage here is beautiful and sublime: "Wherefore, God 
also" (that is, the Father,) "hath highly exalted him, and 
given him a name, which is above every name, that at the 
name of Jesus every knee should bow ; of things in heaven, 
and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that 
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." 
Here the mediatorial glory of Christ is made to consist 
in two things, honor and dominion. 

I. In Honor. — In his having a name which is above 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



8.3 



every name — the name of Jesus ; the sweetest, the most 
charming name that men or angels ever heard! Verily, 
"'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'tis life, and joy, and 
peace !" O ! the sweetness of the name of Jesus, as it 
comes over the young convert with the power of a charm, 
bringing hope and comfort to his burdened soul ! O I 
the sweetness of the name of Jesus as it falls, like the 
music of heaven, upon the ear of the dying saint, enabling 
him to smile in death ; and, in the full hope of glory, 
shout, "O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where 
is thy victory?" — and, O! who can tell the unutterable 
sweetness of the name of Jesus, as it rolls in choral sym- 
phonies from yonder heavenly throng, "loud as from 
numbers without number, and sweet as from blest voices 
uttering joy." The name of Jesus! It wakes up all the 
harps of heaven! it rolls a tide of rapture all over the 
world of glory ! All eyes are turned upon him! whilst 
voices innumerable shout, "Worthy! worthy, is the 
Lamb !" Yes, my brethren, 

" They praise him now, their hearts and voices praise 
And swell the rapture of the glorious song! 
Amen ! so let it be ; shout, angels, shout ! 
And loudest, ye redeemed ! Glory he to God, 
And to the Lamb, who bought us with his blood; 
And washed, and sanctified, and saved our souls ; 
And gave us robes of linen clean, and crowns of gold; 
And make us kings and priests to God !". 

In exact accordance with this is the language of the 
holy apostle, in that noble doxology, or song of praise, 
addressed to the great Redeemer in his own name, and 



8 4 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



that of the whole church, militant and triumphant: "Unto 
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his 
own blood ; and hath made us kings and priests unto 
Gcd and his Father; to him be glory and dominion, for- 
ever, Amen !" Yes, and every pious heart can well 
respond, Amen. 

" O could I speak the matchless worth, 
O could I sound the glories forth, 

Which in my Saviour shine ; 
I'd soar, and touch the heavenly strings 
And vie with Gabriel while he sings 

In notes almost divine ! 

I'd sing the precious blood he spilt, 
My ransom from the dreadful guilt, 

Of sin and wrath divine ; 
I'd sing his glorious righteousness, 
In which all-perfect, heavenly dress, 

My soul shall ever shine !" 

But the mediatorial glory of Christ consists also, 
2. In Dominion. — Yes, having finished the great work 
of atonement, and having ascended up on high, our great 
Redeemer is now, according to the Scriptures, exalted 
"far above all principality, and power, and might, and 
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this 
world, but also in that which is to come." Eph. i. 21. 
" He is Lord of all." Acts x. 36. He it is, who, walking 
in the midst of the golden candlesticks, holds the minis- 
ters as stars in his right hand : he it is, who, seated in the 
highest heavens, rules the church, and rules the world : 
and he it is, who, hereafter, " in that great day, for which 
all other days were made," shall sit as Judge of quick 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



85 



and dead. "Behold, he cometh with clouds," says the 
apostle, "and every eye shall see him, and they also 
which pierced him ; and all kindreds of the earth shall 
wail because of him. Even so, Amen." Yes, "here- 
after" — (and mark, this is his own language) — " hereafter, 
shall ye see the Son of man coming in the clouds of 
heaven, with power and great glory." Matt. xxiv. 30; 
xxvi. 64. Although he shall come as the Son of Man, 
" clothed in a body like our own," yet, verily, none shall 
be able to think lightly of him then; for he shall come 
with great power and glory — shall be revealed from 
heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire. Light- 
nings shall flash from his piercing eyes ! Thunders shall 
roll around his awful throne! He shall tread out the sun 
as a spark! shall break down the pillars of the earth ; his 
voice shall rouse the slumbering dead, and from his lips 
shall go forth that sentence which shall fix the final doom 
of all mankind: and verily, all who on earth despised 
him, shall then wail with a grievous and sore lamentation. 
In view of this, I would now say to every impenitent sin- 
ner present, in the language of the Psalmist, " Kiss the 
Son, lest he be angry ; and ye perish from the way, when 
his wrath is kindled but a little ; blessed are all they who 
put their trust in him." But it is time to consider, 

II. The grand design of the whole, beautifully and com- 
prehensively expressed by the apostle in these words — 
"to the glory of God the Father." On this part of our 
subject we shall be brief. The heavens, in all their varied 
beauties, in all their wide and boundless magnificence, 
proclaim the glory of God — proclaim his wisdom, his 



86 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



grandeur, and his power; but believe me, brethren, we 
have something here which " outshines the wonders of 
the skies ;" something which gives a development of the 
divine character to be found nowhere else whatever. 
Yes, the great scheme of man's redemption is now, and 
ever will be, to the Lord emphatically for a crown of 
glory, and for a diadem of beauty. For example, 

It will be to the Lord a bright and imperishable monu- 
ment of his love. " God so loved the world," says the 
Saviour, " that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life." Yonder sun in the heavens is exceedingly 
bright; but God could have made it brighter still! The 
universe is astonishingly great, but God could have made it 
greater still ! But is there, can there be, any greater gift 
which the infinite God himself can bestow, than the gift 
of his Son ? Hence the peculiar language of the Saviour 
— " God so loved the world ;" and hence also the language 
of the apostle John — " Herein is love, not that we loved 
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the pro- 
pitiation for our sins. And well may we say with one 
enraptured: 

** Could we with ink the ocean fill, 

Were the whole earth of parchment made ; 
Were every single stick a quill, 

And every man a scribe by trade,- — 
To write the love of God above 
Would drain the ocean dry; 
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, 
Though stretched from sky to sky." 

It will be to the Lord a bright and imperishable monu- 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



87 



ment of his power, for it will appear that it was in this 
way he destroyed the works of the devil, subdued the 
enemies of his government, conquered rebellious wills, 
softened hearts of rock, and thus redeemed and disen- 
thralled a guilty and a ruined world ! 

It will be to the Lord a bright and imperishable monu- 
ment of his justice. The lightnings which blasted rebel 
angels in heaven, and awful thunders ever rolling in the 
prison-house of the damned in hell, speak loudly this 
language in the ears of all the creatures which God has 
made — " Stand in awe, and sin not." But O ! the tears, 
the groans, the streaming blood and dying agonies of the 
great Redeemer, Jehovah's Equal, God's Eternal Son, 
will sound the notes of warning louder still. If God 
spared not his own Son, when he was found in the law's 
place and stead of the sinner, will he spare any sinner 
who has to answer for himself? Justice of heaven! how 
inflexible dost thou appear when thy glittering sword is 
seen bathed in Immanuel's blood ! in the blood of an 
incarnate God ! Once more : 

The plan of redemption will be to the Lord a bright 
and imperishable monument of his wisdom, for here 
mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace 
embrace each other. Yes, here "Justice and Mercy are 
both made illustrious, both made triumphant ; one in 
punishing, and the other in pardoning. An infinite sacri- 
fice satisfies divine justice, and the fruit of that sacrifice 
satisfies divine mercy." The fact is, in the glorious plan 
of man's redemption, all the divine perfections are made 
sweetly to harmonize; this is the grand focus, so to speak, 



88 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



in which their rays do meet and glow intensely. When 
man sinned, methinks holy angels struck their golden 
harps in plaintive strains, and cried, "Alas! he is gone! 
with fallen angels man is gone forever!" How can it be 
otherwise? Will a righteous God cease to be just? 
Will a holy God look with indulgence upon sin? Will 
the Ruler of all worlds permit his laws to be broken with 
impunity, and the honors of .his government to lie tram- 
pled upon in the dust? Perish such a thought as this! 
It cannot be ! Methinks it is repeated from world to 
world, it cannot be, and echoed back in dismal strains — 
Then man is lost ! forever lost ! 

But hark ! a sweet voice is heard ! It comes from Him 
who is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the ex- 
press image of his person. ( It comes from Him who, 
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be 
equal with God. " Lo ! I come ! In the volume of the 
book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O God ! 
a body wilt thou prepare me ! I will take the sinner's 
place — upon me be the penalty of the law ! I will bear 
the sins of mine elect in my own body upon the tree ! I 
will stoop beneath the grave, to save a sinking world !" 
What new mystery is this? Angels, stooping from their 
seats in bliss, desire to look into this great mystery of 
godliness : then, rising in admiration, they sweep the 
strings of their golden harps, and swelling their loftiest 
notes, they cry, as with the voice of mighty thunderings, 
"O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judg- 
ments, and his ways past finding out!" My brethren, 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 89 

you have heard of the seven wonders of the world. Here 
we have the one great wonder of the universe ! — the mas- 
terpiece of the great God ! It is this which shall bind all 
worlds to the throne of the ever-blessed God ! It is this 
which shall wake up the sweetest pseans in the heavenly- 
world ! It is this which, through the mighty roll of ever- 
lasting ages, shall fill the courts of God Almighty with 
sounding praise ! — to the glory of God the Father! 
A few inferences, and I have done. 

1. Here we have an unanswerable argument for the 
truth of the Christian religion — a doctrine such as we 
have now been considering; a doctrine of such mingled 
sweetness and grandeur, so worthy of God, and so suited 
to man ; such a doctrine, if unrevealed, I firmly believe, 
could never have entered the mind of man. Woe to the 
infidel — he must meet a fiery day ! 

2. How invaluable must the soul of man be ! To create 
worlds and systems required no great array of means. 
God spake, and it was done! He commanded, and it 
stood fast! But to redeem the soul of man, all heaven 
must be moved ! The Lord of angels must become in- 
carnate, must suffer, and bleed; and agonize, and die. In 
other words, there must be a mighty draft, not upon the 
resources of nature, but upon the resources of nature's 
God. 

" Heaven weeps, that man might smile, 
Heaven bleeds, that man may never die." 

3. How dreadful is the guilt, and how terrible must be 
the doom of those who reject such a Saviour! They 
reject — whom? A dying Saviour, who is God's eternal 



9<D REVIVAL SERMONS. 

Son! They reject — whom? The world's last and only 
hope! There is salvation in none else; and the sinner, 
dying without an interest in this Saviour, is accursed for- 
ever! He is turned over to wrath and despair! He 
sinks down in the deep grave of sorrow, and no angei 
voice, no resurrection trump shall wake him up to hope 
and joy any more! O sinner! sinner! You have reject- 
ed this Saviour already too long. O ! be entreated to 
reject him no more ! Submit now. This may be your 
last call, your last day! 

4. How great will be the happiness of the redeemed in 
heaven! — After such preparation and such cost, to bring 
them to that blessed world above, how dear, O how pre- 
cious will they be in the eyes of Him who brought them 
there ! How will He beautify them with salvation! How 
will He pour into their souls the full tide of heavenly and 
never-ending joy! "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
nor hath it entered into the heart of man, what things 
God hath prepared for them that love him." 

O heaven! sweet heaven! The dwelling-place of love 
and joy! the purchase of a Saviour's blood; the Chris- 
tian's rest, the pilgrim's home! O heaven, sweet heaven! 
There rolls the river of pleasure! there flourishes the tree 
of life! there saints and angels, mingling their splendors, 
have one continued festival, one never-ending jubilee! 
"Visions of glory! how ye crowd upon my aching sight!' 1 
Praise God from the heavens; praise him in the heights! 
Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts! 
Praise ye him, sun and moon ; praise him, all ye stars 
of light ! Praise ye him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 



91 



waters that be above the heavens ! Let them praise the 
name of the Lord. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye 
dragons, and all deeps. Fire, and hail, and snow, and 
vapor, and stormy wind fulfilling his word. Mountains, 
and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars ; beasts, and all 
cattle ; creeping things, and flying fowl ; kings of the 
earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth; 
both young men, and maidens, old men, and children; 
let them praise the Lord : for his name alone is excellent, 
his glory is above the earth and heaven. Praise God in 
his sanctuary; praise him in the firmament of his power; 
praise him for his mighty acts ; praise him according to 
his excellent greatness; praise him with the sound of the 
trumpet; praise him with the psaltery and harp; praise 
him with the timbrel and dance; praise him with stringed 
instruments and organs ; praise him upon the loud cym- 
bals, praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. Let 
everything that hath breath praise the Lord ! Praise the 
Lord, O my soul ! 



92 REVIVAL SERMONS. 



SERMON IV. 

THE USES OF THE LAW. 
Wherefore then serveth the law ?— G-alatians iii. 19. 

My brethren, the great doctrines of grace were precious 
doctrines with the apostle Paul. Although he was a man 
of blameless morality, of ardent piety, of quenchless and 
untiring zeal ; although he was a man who had done and 
suffered more in the cause of his divine Master than any 
other man, probably, that ever lived ; yet, when he comes 
to speak of his acceptance with his Maker, he makes no 
mention of any of these things. " Christ is all his hope, 
and grace is all his song." He relies upon the finished 
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, imputed to him, 
and received by faith alone. This doctrine, so humbling 
to the pride of the human heart, the apostle gloried in; 
and on more occasions than one, he enters into an argu- 
ment to show how utterly impossible it is for the sinner 
to obtain justification with God in any other way. In 
the third chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, he enters 
fully upon the subject, and winds up in this way: "There- 
fore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without 
the deeds of the law." In the next chapter he presents 
the same idea, but in language still stronger and more 
decisive: "To him that vvorketh not, but believeth on 
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for 
righteousness." Presenting the doctrine of justification 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 93 

by the imputed righteousness of Christ, and that alone, 
in a manner so clear and strong, the apostle was aware 
that some might charge him with Antinomian sentiments; 
as if he undervalued the law ; as if he would set it aside 
as a dead letter, and thus encourage men to continue in 
sin, that grace might abound. How does he meet this 
cavil ? How does he repel this charge ? With holy in- 
dignation ! " Do we then make void the law through 
faith ?" says he. " God forbid ! yea, we establish the law." 
He insists upon it that the doctrine of justification by 
faith in the Redeemer, and by that alone, is a wholesome 
doctrine, has no licentious tendency whatever, but is the 
very doctrine which honors the law, and secures its best 
obedience. 

And now, going in the wake of the apostle, I wish, 
before laying before you the uses of the law, to give a 
bird's-eye view of the doctrine of justification. In the 
matter of the sinner's acceptance with God, we firmly 
believe that good works form no part whatever — "the 
death of Christ must still remain sufficient and alone." 
If the sinner were a thousand times better than he is, that 
would be no ground of hope ; if he were a thousand times 
worse than he is, that need be no ground of despair; for, 
mark, if he were a thousand times better than he is, he 
never could be saved without coming to Christ ; if a thou- 
sand times worse than he is, coming to Christ, in the 
overflowings of a penitent and believing heart, he would 
immediately be encircled in the arms of God's parental 
and forgiving love. So that, (and I repeat it,) in the 
matter of the sinner's acceptance with God, (so far as 



94 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



merit in the sinner is concerned,) good works form no 
part whatever. "The death of Christ must still remain 
sufficient and alone." Do any charge me with Antino- 
mian sentiments, and say, " O, sir, is not that a dangerous 
doctrine ?" I repel the charge, as the apostle did, with 
holy indignation. Do we then make void the law through 
faith? God forbid! yea, we establish the law: we insist 
upon it that the doctrine of justification by the righteous- 
ness of Christ, and that alone, is most wholesome, and is 
the very doctrine which prompts to the best obedience. 
Do you ask, How ? I answer in this way: The sinner is 
awakened. Finding himself under the curse of God's 
righteous law, he is alarmed, and goes about to make 
satisfaction, to establish his own righteousness ; in other 
words, he tries to save himself. After many efforts, find- 
ing no relief in that way, he comes to the conviction that 
he is indeed a poor, lost, ruined sinner; and when he is 
ready to give up, and thinks that there is no hope for 
him, then Christ is revealed in his heart, the hope of 
glory; the effect is, Christ becomes precious! — love be- 
comes the ruling passion of the soul ; and we all know 
that love will make us do what nothing else possibly can. 
Do we then make void the law through faith? God for- 
bid ! Yea, we establish the law. But some one may then 
say, "If justification cannot come by the law, wherefore 
then serveth the law ?" Should I say that food cannot 
clothe us, do I say that food is of no use ? Should I say 
that clothing cannot feed us, am I crying down the use 
of clothing? Certainly not. Everything is good in its 
own place, and for its own use. Even so in the case 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 95 

before us. Faith serves to justify the soul before God, 
and good works serve to justify faith before men. In 
other words, one is the fruit-bearing tree; the other the 
fruit itself, which this good tree bears. Having given 
this brief bird's-eye view of the doctrine of justification, 
I proceed next to lay before you some of the most impor- 
tant uses of the law. 

I. One important use of the law is to declare the sov- 
ereignty of God — to assert his supreme and everlasting 
dominion over us. Some minute philosophers, after 
descanting upon the amplitude and wonders of creation, 
tell us that " man is but an atom of an atom world," and 
therefore too insignificant to be noticed by the great God ; 
but let it be remembered that there is, so to speak, a 
twofold universe; a universe of worlds and systems, and 
also a universe of minute existences — animalcules, for 
example, so exceedingly minute, that it would require a 
thousand of them to occupy the space of a grain of sand ! 
And now, if, in comparison with the one universe, man 
dwindles into insignificance and becomes "an atom of an 
atom world," in comparison with the other universe, man 
rises into vast importance — becomes a giant, a colossus, 
a world, a universe in himself, and therefore worthy of 
notice — the minute philosopher himself being judge. But 
this matter apart: the law itself proves that, however 
insignificant man is, in comparison with the immensity 
of the works of God, he is deemed of sufficient importance 
to be made the subject of divine legislation. The very 
existence of the law proves this; whilst its compass makes 
known God's determination to embrace all men, and all 



9 6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



their actions ; and its spirituality proves the purpose of 
God to lay his hand upon the very springs of action. 
And, to crown the whole, the penalty of the law shows 
the divine determination to notice every violation of the 
law, and to suffer it in no case to be trampled upon with 
impunity. My brethren, it is a good thing to have the 
sceptre of the God of heaven over us; but a still better 
thing, if possible, to know that this sceptre is over us. 
Now this law is a standing memorial of the fact: it 
declares that God is our sovereign; that we are recog- 
nized as the subjects of his moral government; and that 
we should act accordingly. Certainly this is a very 
important and most excellent use of the law. 

2. A second and very important use of the law, is to 
furnish a perfect code of moral precepts ; and that it is 
perfect, we have demonstrated, as we think, in our first 
discourse.* But the evidence thereof may also be seen 
in the very remarkable fact, that no one, so far as I know, 
has ever suggested an amendment. Our representatives 
in Congress, embracing the collected wisdom of the nation, 
are annually engaged in making laws, and amending and 
repealing them, and making new laws : but here we have 
a code of laws given more than three thousand years ago, 
and, if I mistake not, no enlightened and virtuous man 
has ever desired their amendment or repeal. In this 
point of view, then, the moral law, as given in the Bible, 
is of great use, of immense value. 

3. Another important use of the law is to curb the 
wicked — to hold them in check. The prohibitions of the 

* See page 1 7. 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



97 



law are as so many mountain barriers placed in the way 
of the transgressor; and when these barriers are passed, 
then comes the penalty of the law, like some mighty 
angel standing in the path of the transgressor, with a 
drawn sword in his hand, threatening to cleave him down, 
and thundering in his ear at every step the much needed 
warning — " Stand in awe, and sin not !" But, 

4. The law is of use to convince the sinner that he is 
a sinner, a great sinner, lost, ruined, and undone. " By 
the law," says the apostle, " is the knowledge of sin." It 
may be considered as a mirror, in which the sinner sees 
the defects and obliquities of his own moral character; 
or as a kind of balance, in which sinners and their actions 
are weighed and found wanting. Now, let any candid 
man take the ten commandments — let him read them all 
over carefully; and, reviewing his life, let him say, if he 
can, ''All these commandments I have strictly kept from 
my youth up ; I have broken not one." No, he cannot, 
but must rather say, with Job— "If I justify myself, mine 
own mouth shall condemn me : If I say I am perfect, it 
shall also prove me perverse." But the law is of use, not 
only to convince the sinner that he is a sinner, but that 
he is a great sinner; that his sins are very numerous, and 
of great magnitude ; only let him take the law of the ten 
commandments, and read it, in connection with our 
Saviour's sermon upon the mount, expounding its extent 
and spirituality ; and, if I mistake not, he will have such 
views of himself as he never had before. Sins of omis- 
sion, and sins of commission; sins of thought, of word, 
and of deed, how very many ! And O ! if the Spirit of 



9 8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



God should pour light upon the mind of the sinner, and 
set home the claims of the law upon his conscience with 
divine power, methinks he will better understand the lan- 
guage of Eliphaz to Job: "Is not thy wickedness great, 
and thine iniquities infinite?" "I was alive without the 
law, once," says the apostle, "but when the command- 
ment came, sin revived, and I died." Time was, when he 
thought himself no great sinner; "his hopes of heaven 
were firm and bright," but when the commandment came, 
with a convincing power and light, his views were changed, 
and he had to confess himself to be a great sinner, yea, 
even the chief of sinners. The language of the poet, I 
presume, many in this assembly can well understand: 

"My sins appeared but small before, 

Till terribly I saw 
How perfect, holy, just, and pure, 

Was thine eternal law. 
Then felt my soul the heavy load 

My sins revived again; 
I had provoked a dreadful God, 

And all my hopes were slain !" 

But the law is of use to convince the sinner that he is 
a great sinner, by its dreadful penalty. In human legis- 
lation, it is deemed a matter of vital importance to pro- 
portion, as far as possible, the punishment to the offence; 
and if this principle be flagrantly violated, all cry out 
against the law. For example: suppose the legislature 
of this State should make a law of this kind, that whoever 
shall be convicted of murder in the first degree, shall be 
fined one dollar, and imprisoned one hour, Would not 



THE USES OF THE LAW, 99 

all cry out against that law? — and why? Because the 
proportion between the punishment and the offence is not 
maintained. What! the penalty for wilful murder only 
one dollar fine, and one hour imprisonment! This will 
never do! Well, suppose, at the next session of the 
legislature this law should be repealed, and a law of this 
kind enacted : — If a person shall defraud another to the 
amount of five dollars, upon conviction thereof, he shall 
suffer death, without benefit of clergy? Would not all 
intelligent persons throughout the State cry out against 
this law also ? — and why ? For the same reason as in the 
other case — the principle of proportioning the punishment 
to the offence is not regarded. Now, if this principle be 
important in human governments, why may it not be in 
the divine ? The Ruler of the universe must certainly 
fully understand this matter, and be aware of its immense 
importance. And now, what is the penalty of the divine 
law? "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." "Indigna- 
tion and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul 
of man that sinneth." " Cursed is every one that con- 
tinueth not in all things written in the book of the law, 
to do them." That is, according to the Scriptures, every 
sin deserves the wrath and curse of God, both in this life 
and that which is to come ; or in other words, everlasting 
perdition is the penalty of God's violated law. This, my 
brethren, is an awful penalty. Now, then, if the sinner 
be not a great sinner, one of two things must be true — 
either that God lacks understanding, or he is a malignant 
being! Certainly he does not lack understanding, for he 
is the " Only Wise God." He cannot lack understand- 



IOO 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



ing, for is he not the unoriginated Source of all intelli- 
gence? No! no! his understanding is infinite. He 
knows precisely the true demerit of sin, and he knows 
perfectly how to proportion the punishment to the offence; 
this must be admitted by all: then, if the sinner still 
denies that he is a great sinner, he must come to this 
frightful and blasphemous conclusion, that God, knowing 
full well how to proportion the punishment to the offence, 
fixes the penalty vastly beyond what he knows to be 
just! O! my friends, this cannot be, for God is Love, 
and he has given the most affecting proof of his kind 
regards for man, by sending his only begotten and well- 
beloved Son to die for our sinful race. God, then, being 
infinitely wise, and knowing precisely what sin deserves — 
being infinitely good, and having no disposition to make 
the penalty too severe, it follows necessarily that, whether 
the sinner is convinced of it or not, in the sight of God 
he is a great sinner, an awful sinner, a hell-deserving sin- 
ner! 

There are several reasons why the sinner may not be 
sensible of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and conse- 
quently of his own demerit as a sinner. I. He knows 
not the excellence of the law which he has violated. The 
more excellent a law is, and the more intimately con- 
nected it may be with matters of vital importance, the 
greater is the crime of violating that law. To illustrate 
my meaning : In the world of nature, the principle of 
gravitation is a principle of vital importance, causing all 
worlds and things to maintain their proper stations, and 
move in beauteous and delightful harmony. Nov?, suppose 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



IOI 



a blow could be given to that principle of gravitation, 
deranging the harmony of all worlds, and causing worlds 
and systems to dash together in wild confusion ; would 
not that blow, thus given, and thus operating, be a very 
serious matter? Now, let it be remembered, that what 
the principle of gravitation is in the natural world, the 
principle of love is in the moral world— that which binds 
everything in harmony with each other, and all to the 
throne of God; therefore, all the requirements of the law, 
being summed up in love, as the Saviour teaches, sin, 
which breaks the law, of course strikes a blow at this 
principle of moral harmony; and, O! in the frightful his- 
tory of human depravity, and in the present sad condition 
of our fallen world, we have an exhibition of the nature 
of sin, showing that, of a truth, it is no light matter, but 
is an evil of unspeakable magnitude. It wars against 
love, and against the well-being and happiness of ail the 
creatures which God has made. 

Another reason why the sinner may not be duly con- 
scious of the fact, is this, that he does not reflect, as he 
should, upon the character of that Being against whom 
his sin is committed, It is not against a man, a worm 
like ourselves, nor an angel, but against the great God 
of heaven and earth, to whom also we are indebted for 
our existence, and every blessing, that he has sinned; as 
the Psalmist says, " Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, 
and have done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest 
be justified when thou speakest; and be clear when thou 
judgest" If a man strike a blow at another, it is a viola- 
tion of 'law, and deserves punishment; if the person who 



102 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



was struck was a master, or a father, venerable by reason 
of silvery locks and hoary age, the offence is greater, and 
deserves a severer punishment. But suppose the person 
upon whom the blow was inflicted to be a king, a lawful 
monarch upon his throne, in robes of royalty — certainly 
the offence would be still greater, and the punishment 
deserved still more condign : thus the criminality of the 
act and its punishment must be graduated by the charac- 
ter or the dignity of the person against whom the offence 
has been committed. Now, sin strikes a blow at the 
Eternal God ! our Heavenly Father, our Divine Master, 
the Ancient of Days, and the alone Monarch of all worlds ! 
Yes, sin strikes a blow at this great and glorious Being; 
pouring contempt upon all the perfections of his charac- 
ter, and doing what it can to lay his sacred honors in the 
dust. Now, if the principle of graduation be correct, (and 
certainly it is,) then, God being an infinite being, sin 
against him is an offence of infinite magnitude, and 
deserving of infinite punishment. 

But yet another reason why the sinner may not under- 
stand the exceeding sinfulness of sin and his own demerit, 
is this — he does not think how much evil may flow from 
one sinful act. "Behold, how great a matter a little fire 
kindleth !" A single spark of fire may be considered a 
small matter, but let it be struck in a magazine of gun- 
powder, or let it kindle upon a dwelling, in a large city, 
and it may extend, and extend, and extend, until the 
whole city is laid in ruins! Here is a lake, having a 
smooth surface; a stone is cast into that lake; ripples 
are formed^ and their concentric circles spread, and spread, 



THE USES OF THE LAW. IO3 

and spread, until, perchance, they sweep the farthest 
shore! Here are a thousand crystal pillars, of immense 
value, upon a level plain, all standing in a row. An 
impulse is given to the first, which throws it down; in 
falling, that pillar strikes a second, and that, in falling, 
strikes a third ; and so on to the last — and lo ! a thousand 
crystal pillars lie shattered upon the ground, all traced 
to the single impulse given to the first pillar! Here is a 
man, a father; in the presence of his little boy he utters 
an oath ; that little boy catches that oath from his father's 
lips — he becomes profane — and through all time profane- 
ness is handed down, it may be from generation to gen- 
eration, until it leads, perchance, to the perdition of a 
hundred thousand souls! O! think of the frightful con- 
sequences of the first sin committed by the first human 
pair. One poet says, and very correctly, 

" Our mother took the poisoned fruit, 
And tainted all our blood." 

And another graphically says, 

"Her rash hand, in evil hour, 
Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she eat ! 
Earth felt the wound ; and Nature, from her seat, 
Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, 
That all was lost J" 

No man knows, or can know, all the bearings and ulti- 
mate effects of sin ; for the consequences thereof may 
not only flow down the long stream of time, but through 
the wide ocean of eternity ! The fact is, it is none but 
God who knows, or can know, what a dreadful evil sin 



104 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

is ! In fixing the penalty of the law, he has given his 
estimate of it. This is his judgment, and we are sure his 
judgment is true. Of course, then, whether the sinner 
be sensible of it or not, he is a great sinner. O excellent 
use of the law, to convince the sinner that tremendous 
guilt lies upon his soul! This conviction is wholesome; 
this conviction is necessary; — -for, if not convinced of our 
sin, we shall never feel as we should our need of a Saviour. 
." The whole," says the Saviour, " have no need of a phy- 
sician, but they that are sick." " I came not to call the 
righteous, but sinners to repentance." Be entreated then, 
my unconverted friends, not to brace yourselves up 
against conviction. Be willing to know the truth, how- 
ever it may startle you, and humble you, and lay your 
soul in the dust ; — for, thank God, "it is a faithful saying, 
and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came 
into the world to save sinners" — even the chief. But to 
proceed. In speaking of the claims and penalties of the 
law, some may object to its severity, in several things. 
For example, when they hear the sentence announced, 
" Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things 
written in the book of the law, to do them;" — perceiving 
that the " moral man," so called, if a sinner at all, is as 
truly brought under the curse of the law as the greatest 
transgressor, they think that this is not just. What! one 
single sin exposing the soul to the penalty of the law ? 
Yes, certainly, in the very nature of the case, this must 
be so. Here is a man who has burned down the house 
of his neighbor. He is arrested, he is convicted of the 
crime of arson. What is the penalty for arson in this 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



commonwealth ? Is it imprisonment ? or is it death ? 
No matter what it is, the person convicted of burning 
down one house, is as certainly exposed to the penalty 
as if he had burned down a thousand. Now, if this prin- 
ciple is admitted to be correct in human law, why should 
it not also be deemed correct in the divine law ? Besides, 
does not the apostle James say, " He that offendeth in one 
point, is guilty of all?" If one link in a chain be broken, 
the chain as certainly falls to the ground as if every link 
had been broken. I do not say that the pangs of the 
second death will be as great for one transgressor as for 
another; but it is certain, that the second death awaits 
every transgressor, according to the provisions of the 
law; for we repeat it, it is written, and it must stand for- 
ever, " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all 
things written in the book of the law, to do them." 

Another objection is based upon the doctrine of ever- 
lasting punishment, which the law denounces. The point 
of the objection is this — that a person should be ever- 
lastingly punished, in the world to come, for the sins 
committed in this brief state of existence. " There is no 
proportion," says the objector, "between the time occu- • 
pied in the commission of sin and the duration of the 
punishment." And is there any reference to the time 
occupied in human law? Here is a man who draws a 
pistol, fires it, and, in one second of time, his enemy falls 
dead at his feet ! He is arrested — he is tried for wilful 
murder. All the witnesses agree that he did fire the pis- 
tol, and did thus murder the man. Now, the lawyer rises 
to plead for his client at the bar — and some of these law- 



io6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



yers, we know, are very learned and ingenious — but did 
you ever hear a single lawyer bring forward an argument 
of this kind ? — " May it please the court, my client stands 
indicted on a charge of murder; I admit that my client 
did murder the deceased, but I wish your Honor and the 
gentlemen of the jury to notice that it did not take my 
client twenty years to perpetrate the deed; nor ten, nor 
even one ! It was the work of a second. I hope the 
court will perceive that the offence is a trifling one, and 
that your Honor, without further delay, will direct the 
sheriff to dismiss the jury!" Did you ever hear of any 
lawyer, learned or not, making a speech of this kind? I 
suspect not. Well, the judge gives the charge. Did you 
ever hear a judge give a charge of this kind ? — " Gentle- 
men of the jury, you have heard the testimony and all the 
pleadings in the present case ; and now it only remains 
for me to give you the charge. Gentlemen of the jury, 
two points will engage your attention. First, matter of 
fact; secondly, matter of law. With regard to the first 
point — you have heard the testimony of the witnesses, 
and the case is admitted, even by the counsel for the 
prisoner, to be clear; he murdered the man, and now it 
only remains for me to instruct you in the matter of the 
law. Gentlemen of the jury, you are to inquire, diligent- 
ly, how long it took the prisoner at the bar to murder the 
deceased. If.it took him twenty years, it is a great offence 
against the law, and calls for a heavy punishment. If it 
took him ten years, it is only half as great an offence, and 
deserves only half that punishment. If it took one year, 
it is only one-twentieth part as serious an offence; but if 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



you find evidence to believe that the perpetration of the 
deed occupied no more than a second of time, it is a 
matter of no consequence at all, and you will clear the 
prisoner I" 

Did you ever hear, my brethren, of any learned judge 
giving a charge of this kind ? He had better not. It 
would be a rightful ground of impeachment. Human law 
lays no stress upon the time occupied in the violation of 
the law; the simple question is touching the fact of viola- 
tion. That fact established, the penalty follows as a mat- 
ter of course, whether the time occupied has been long 
or short. If this principle be correct in human law, why 
may it not also be correct in that law which is divine ? 
But further : does not the law of the land also, in many 
cases, recognize and act upon the principle of everlasting 
punishment? Here is a man convicted of murder, and he 
is sentenced to die. Do you ever see him at the ballot- 
box any more? Do you ever see him on the street, in 
the store, at the neighbor's house, or even at his own 
home any more ? The other day he was a freeman, and 
invested with all the rights and privileges of a good citi- 
zen ; but by the law of the land he is stripped of these 
rights and privileges, and stripped of them forever. But 
take another case — the case of confinement for life in the 
penitentiary. The man is there ; if he lives five years, he 
is there five years. If he lives ten years, he is tnere ten 
years. If he lives twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years, he 
is there still, and never comes out. The idea is this : 
Human law was made for the body; it grasps the body 
of the offender, as it were, with an iron grasp, and never 



io8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



lets go so long as it can retain that grasp; that is, until 
the body dies. Even so the divine law, made for the 
soul, grasps the soul, and will not let go so long as it can 
retain its grasp; that is, until the soul dies: but the soul 
never dies, therefore the punishment is everlasting 

This is an argument which, I humbly conceive, cannot 
be set aside by the wit or ingenuity of arty man, especially 
as it falls in with the solemn declaration of our blessed 
Saviour: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is 
not quenched." Another idea connected with the subject 
is this — that those who die in an unregenerate state go to 
the world of woe with the carnal mind, which is enmity 
against God. They will, according to the Scriptures, 
blaspheme the God of heaven, because of their pains, and 
repent not; that is, they will continue to sin; and if they 
continue to sin, may not God continue to punish them? 
Remember the closing words of the twenty-fifth chapter 
of Matthew : " These" (the wicked) " shall go away into 
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eter- 
nal." Let none trifle with matters of such immense im- 
portance. Go, careless sinner, trifle with the forked 
lightning ! Go, trifle with the sweeping whirlwind, and 
trifle with the raging pestilence ! But trifle not, O trifle 
not with the interests of that immortal soul of yours, 
which must be saved or lost, happy or miserable, through 
all eternity ! 

But, as we have said, the law is of use to convince the 
sinner not only that he is a sinner, and a very great sin- 
ner, but that he is also a sinner lost, ruined, and undone. 
The argument is this : The law demands perfect obe- 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



dience. The penalty is death. The sinner has broken 
the law, and the law thunders out, " Satisfaction or death 
but the sinner can make no satisfaction. Repentance will 
not do. Will the merchant take tears in payment for 
what is due him? or will repentance release the murderer 
under sentence of death ? Nor will reformation answer. 
If the debtor says to the merchant creditor, " If you will 
cancel my debt, I will get in your debt no more ; I will 
turn over a new leaf, and will pay cash in all time to 
come." Will that satisfy the merchant? Or, if the mur- 
derer condemned to die should say to the judge who has 
pronounced the sentence, "I will commit murder no 
more;" will this satisfy the judge, or rather the law, of 
which he is but the organ ? O no ! if all debtors were 
released, and all criminals pardoned on these terms, the 
very foundations of society would be broken up, and the 
most important affairs of human life would be thrown into 
perfect confusion, and. the consequences to the community 
would be most alarming. No, my brethren, sin is too 
dreadful an evil, too terrible in its tendencies, for God to 
treat it as a venial affair. For the good of the universe 
the law must speak this language — "Satisfaction or death." 
The sinner himself can make no satisfaction — then the 
sinner stands exposed to the penalty, like the culprit 
whose head is upon the block, and exposed to the axe 
of the executioner. 

But this leads me to mention yet another use of the 
law, and one which I love to mention. It is this : — To 
convince the sinner that he needs a Saviour, and without 
an interest in the atoning sacrifice of the great Redeemer, 



no 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



he must perish, without mercy and without hope! "The 
law," says the apostle, "is a schoolmaster to bring us to 
Christ." All its precepts and all its penalties — all its 
lightnings and all its thunders have a direct and powerful 
tendency to cut the sinner off from all his self-righteous 
plans and self-righteous dependence, and to shut him up 
to the plan proposed in the gospel. It may be represent- 
ed thus: The law finds the sinner careless and secure in 
his sins; setting before the sinner its claims and penalties, 
it charges home guilt upon his soul. The sinner, waking 
up in alarm, promises repentance. " How can tears on 
earth wash out those sins written in heaven ?" says the 
law. " Pay what thou owest ! The soul that sinneth, it 
shall die!" "O spare me!" cries the sinner; "I will not 
only repent of my sins, but I will reform. I will become 
a better man." "All in vain," says the law; "a better 
sacrifice is required; without the shedding of blood, there 
is no remission." " O, well," says the sinner, yet more 
alarmed, "if it must be so, I consent; I am willing to lay 
down my life as an atonement for my sins !" "Neither 
will this answer," says the law ; " you have sinned against 
an infinite God, and divine justice demands an infinite 
atonement, or death. Thou canst not make this atone- 
ment; then prepare for death. Now hear your sentence: 
'Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things 
written in the book of the law, to do them !' " O dread- 
ful ! the sinner is condemned ! is sentenced to eternal 
death! What is to be done? Let him cry for mercy! 
The law knows no mercy ; stern and inexorable, it still 
rolls its thunders over the sinner's soul — "Cursed is every 



THE USES OF THE LAW. 



Ill 



one that continueth not in all things written in the book 
of the law, to do them." And now all the sinner's legal 
plans and legal hopes are fled, and fled forever ! Under 
the curse of God's righteous law, he is sinking down — 
sinking down ! Despair is gathering its terrors around 
him ! and now he gives himself up for lost. But hark ! 
what sweet voice is that ? "Poor sinner! dying sinner! 
look from the borders of the pit to my recovering grace!" 
" Is this thy voice, my Saviour — my loving, bleeding, 
dying Lord ?" says the sinner. " Welcome, welcome, 
dear Redeemer ! welcome to this heart of mine ! O, 
blessed Saviour! I take thee on thy terms, on any terms] 

** * Here, Lord, I give myself away, 
'Tis all that I can do !' " 

A stern master, as the story goes, had, by his repeated 
corrections, embittered the life of a poor slave. This poor 
slave sought comfort in religion, and found it. Laid upon 
a bed of death, he was very happy ; ready to depart and 
to be with Christ, which was far better. At this moment 
his stern master stepped into his room, and stood near 
his dying bed. The dying slave perceived his master, 
and, with much emotion, grasped his master's hand, and 
brought it to his lips, and kissed it, saying, 44 Blessings 
upon this hand ! Blessings upon this hand ! This hand 
has saved my soul!" So the sinner, brought to Christ by 
the terrors of the law, may say, "Blessings upon the law! 
Blessings upon the law ! It was stern and severe — it 
humbled me, it scourged me — it taught me that I was a 
sinner, a great sinner, a sinner lost, ruined, and undone ; 



I I 2 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



it made me feel my need of a Saviour; it was a school- 
master to bring me to Christ! Blessings upon the law! 
in this way it has saved my soul !" May the law do its 
office upon the heart of every sinner in this assembly this 
morning! Amen and Amen! 



SERMON V. 

THE SINNER WEIGHED AND FOUND WANTING. 
Tekel ; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.— Daxiel v. 27. 

Amidst the darkness of heathenish ignorance and super- 
stition, there have not been wanting plain and unequivo- 
cal evidences of a superintending and retributive Provi- 
dence. Pharaoh was visited with memorable judgments 
for refusing to let the children of Israel go; and history 
informs us that not only Belshazzar, (to whom the words 
of our text immediately apply,) but Antiochus Epiphanes, 
Galerius Maximus, and many others, were signally pun- 
ished for their daring impiety. With regard to Belshazzar, 
he was a most dissolute monarch. Neglecting the affairs 
of his empire, he gave himself up to every excess of riot 
and debauchery: but the measure of his iniquity was now 
full. The period was at last arrived when he should 
reckon with his God. On one of the national festivals, 
(supposed to be in honor of the golden image which had 
been set up by Nebuchadnezzar in the plains of Dura,) 
Belshazzar, the king, we are told, made a great feast to a 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thou- 
sand; and, as if it were not enough that he should be a 
bacchanalian, he must needs add sacrilege to his intem- 
perance. In the midst of his banquetings, he orders the 
golden vessels, which had been brought from Jerusalem, 
and placed in the temple of Belus, in Babylon — he orders, 
I say, these golden vessels to be brought into the ban- 
queting-room, that his princes, his wives, and his concu- 
bines might drink wine therein ; thus turning to a profane 
use those vessels which had been consecrated, and set 
apart for the most sacred purposes. But there was a 
righteous God on high \ There was an avenging angel 
just at hand ! 

Whilst Belshazzar was thus making an ostentatious 
parade of his wealth and grandeur; whilst he was drink- 
ing wine to gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, 
of wood, and of stone — in the midst of his revellings, 
banquetings, and abominable idolatries — in the very same 
hour of the night came forth fingers of a man's hand, and 
wrote over against the candlestick, upon the plaster j>f the 
wall of the king's palace. The king saw it, and his coun- 
tenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him. 
The king saw it; and the joints of his loins were loosed, 
and his knees smote one against another. The king saw 
it; and he cried out in alarm, and commanded to bring in 
the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. 
They came; they saw the writing, but they could neither 
read it nor give the interpretation thereof. At length, by 
the advice of the queen mother, Daniel is called in. He 
read the writing; he gave the interpretation thereof. The 



H4 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



words are few, but indeed they are full of terror! " Mene, 
mene, tekel, upharsin:" — one of which we have selected 
for our consideration, Tekel;" the meaning of which is, 
"Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found want- 
ing." How dreadful the interpretation ! Weighed in the 
balances, and found wanting! Alas! the trial is over; 
the decision is made; the sentence is gone forth; and all 
this announced in a manner so awful, so mysterious ! 
Methinks it fell upon Belshazzar's ear as the sudden peal- 
ing thunder of a midnight storm ! Hushed is the voice 
of mirth. Silent the song of revelry. The king and his 
courtiers, stupified with amazement, await in awful sus- 
pense the unseen but hovering judgment. For a moment 
the palace, which had been ringing with all manner of 
music, and the songs of mirth and revelry, is wrapt in the 
solitude and silence of the grave. Suddenly the silence 
is broken. The voice of alarm rings along the streets ! 
it is the clashing of arms; the shrieks of the wounded, 
the groans of the dying, commingled with the thundering 
shouts of a victorious foe. . The Lord God Almighty has 
opened to Cyrus the gates of brass, and has broken in 
sunder the bars of iron. Babylon is taken ! Soldiers 
crowd into the palace — Belshazzar is slain. O, disastrous 
night! where is Belshazzar's pomp and glory now? He 
was flushed with wine ; but he is now icy cold in death ! 
His royal robes, of gold and purple, are torn and rolled 
in his own blood. The impious monarch, in the midst 
of his bacchanalian debauch, is hurried to the bar of a 
thrice holy God. You tremble, perchance, at the doom 
which awaits him. O sinner! sinner! think of Belshazzar 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



and be wise. Are you shocked that I should insinuate a 
comparison between you and this wicked king ? Remem- 
ber, you live in a gospel land ; Belshazzar lived not in a 
gospel land. You have a Bible; Belshazzar had no 
blessed Bible. You have heard of the dear, dying, Sa- 
viour; Belshazzar never heard of this great Legate from 
the skies. And remember, you must be weighed in the 
balances too ; and what though you be not found as much 
wanting as Belshazzar, if found wanting at all, in the great 
day of judgment, you will be forever undone. 

My purpose is not to sketch the character of this im- 
pious and idolatrous king, but to bring forward two classes 
of characters, and weigh them in the balances of the sanc- 
tuary. The first class of characters will embrace those 
who are heterodox in sentiment — those who embrace 
some fundamental error. The second class will consist 
of those who may be very orthodox or correct in senti- 
ment, but are not so in practice. All these we purpose 
now to weigh in the balances of the sanctuary — and, let 
it be remembered, it does not need the forms and solemni- 
ties of the judgment-day to ascertain any given character. 
Here, in the Scriptures before me, we have the balances 
of the sanctuary; and, if weighed in these, and found 
wanting, you may be as sure it is according to the de- 
cision of Heaven, as if it were actually announced, in a 
voice of thunder, from the throne of the Great Eternal ! 
To the law and to the testimony, if it speak not according 
to this, it is because there is no light in them. 

Class I. Those who are heterodox in sentiment, or 
those who embrace fundamental error. 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



1. The Atheist. — When we look abroad upon the 
heavens, and mark the garniture of the sky; when we 
contemplate our own bodies, so fearfully and wonderfully 
made; or when we look around, and observe the proofs 
of design on every hand, it really seems astonishing that 
any man in his senses should deny the existence of a 
God. But as Spinoza and Vaninni, and several members 
of the French Convention, advocated atheistical senti- 
ments, we are disposed to believe that some persons, in 
the plentitude of their pride, may, peradventure, persuade 
themselves that there is no God. Now, on the supposi- 
tion that there is such a character, let the atheist be 
weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. What says 
the Psalmist ? " The fool hath said in his heart, There is 
no God." Ps. xiv. I. And this is condemnatory; but 
what is the language of Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans ? 
"The invisible things of Him, from the creation of the 
world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things 
that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so 
that they are without excuse." Now, if atheists in pagan 
lands are without excuse, certainly those who live amid 
the splendors of gospel day are also without excuse. The 
atheist, then, being weighed in the balances, is found 
wanting. But, 

2. Let the Deist next be placed in the balances. There 
have been deists, no doubt, in every age ; but this name 
was assumed by certain persons in France and Italy, who, 
although inclined to atheistical sentiments, chose rather 
to be called deists. Deists differ in many things, but 
agree in one particular, viz : in rejecting the sacred volume 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



117 



as a divine inspiration. Now to the law and to the tes- 
timony. In Rev. xxii. 19, it is thus written: "If any 
man shall take away from the words of the book of this 
prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book 
of life, and out of the holy city." But the deist or infidel 
takes away not only a part — he takes away the whole of 
God's blessed word. If this should meet the eye of an 
infidel or deist, he will, no doubt, be disposed to smile at 
my simplicity — that I should presume to weigh him in 
the balances of the sanctuary. He rejects these balances, 
which are suspended, as it were, from the throne of Al- 
mighty God, and he would be weighed in balances of his 
own— balances framed by his own deceitful heart, and 
poised aloft by Apollyon, the angel of the burning pit. 
Deluded mortal ! How dost thou know that thy balances 
are correct? What angel whispered it in thine ear? To 
what high authority wilt thou appeal ? Deluded mortal ! 
I ask again, How dost thou know that thy balances are 
correct? Who stamped them? Now these balances of 
the sanctuary are divinely stamped. They bear the stamp 
of prophecy; the stamp of miracles; the stamp of holi- 
ness; — they bear many a clear stamp divine. If the bal- 
ances of the infidel be correct, how comes it to pass that 
the champion of infidelity* recanted when he was sick, 
and cried aloud in terror when he died? How comes it 
to pass that one in the hour of death said — " I am taking 
a leap into the dark;"f and another cried out — "O, the 
insufferable pangs of hell and damnation."! Ah! my 
readers, you have heard, it may be, of many an infidel 
* Voltaire. f Hobbes. \ Francis Newport. 



u8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



recanting on a bed of death ; did you ever hear of a Chris- 
tian then recanting? You have heard, no doubt, of many 
an infidel, when he was about to die, sending for some 
Christian to comfort him. Did you ever hear of a single 
Christian, in such circumstances, sending for some infidel 
to comfort him? No, never! Infidels, and those asso- 
ciated with them, are frequently seen going on, right 
merrily, in the broad road, pointing the finger of scorn at 
pilgrims in the narrow way ; but whence is it, that when 
the river of death heaves into sight, they are usually so 
desirous of taking a short cut, to pass over at the Chris- 
tian's fording place? Why do they, generally, not like 
their own fording place? Ah! too many fearful things 
are there ! Frequently despair is there ! remorse is there ! 
and heavy clouds of wrath ! But to the law and to the 
testimony. Hear the language of the Saviour, and observe, 
it was uttered in his last interview with his disciples, just 
as he was about to ascend up into heaven : " Go ye into 
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he 
that believeth not, shall be damned." Mark xvi. 15, 16. 
The case is settled. The deist or infidel, dying in that 
state, dies without hope ! 

3. Let the Legalist be weighed next; and by the 
legalist, I mean the self-righteous man, he who, valuing 
himself on account of the supposed excellence of his own 
moral character, feels no need of a Saviour, and, conse- 
quently, neglects the great salvation. Doubtless there 
are some of this class in this assembly. Let the legalist 
then be placed in the balances. Now "to the law and 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



119 



to the testimony." What has the legalist to weigh against 
the requirements of the law? Nothing, except it be a 
righteousness absolutely perfect ; for it is written, " Cursed 
is every one that continueth not in all things written in 
the book of the law, to do them ?" And where is the 
man who has, strictly speaking, continued in all things 
written in the book of the law, to do them ? In other 
words, where is the individual who has never sinned? 
There is none upon the face of the earth, for the Bible 
says expressly, "There is not a just man upon earth, that 
doeth good, and sinneth not." And the apostle John 
says, " If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 
and the truth is not in us." And again, in language yet 
yet more emphatic, "If we say that we have not sinned, 
we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." The 
legalist, then, has no perfect righteousness of his own, 
and therefore has nothing to weigh against the require- 
ments of the law. And what has he to weigh against 
the requirements of the gospel ? Nothing, except it be 
the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ; but 
this, you will observe, on his own principles, he has 
nothing to do with. Then see how the case stands. The 
legalist, or self-righteous man, has nothing to weigh 
against the requirements of the law; nor has he anything 
to weigh against the requirements of the gospel. Alas! 
alas ! self-righteous man, thou art in an evil case ! " Thou 
art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting!" 

4. Let the Universalist be next weighed in the balances 
of the sanctuary. The Universalist of the modern stamp 
believes that all, no matter how wicked they may have 



120 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



been, will go to heaven when they die. If so, why did the 
Saviour say, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
perish." " He that believeth not, shall be damned ;" and, 
"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom 
of God." On the principles of the Universalist, these 
solemn declarations of the Saviour have no meaning at 
all ; or if they have, they mean the very opposite of what 
they express, even this : Whether ye repent or not, ye 
shall not perish; he that believeth not, shall not be 
damned ; and, whether a man be born again or not, he 
shall certainly see the kingdom of God ; aye, shall cer- 
tainly reach heaven — all Bible declarations to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. O ! what awful trifling with the 
Scriptures have we here! But the Universalist may say: 
The change required takes place in death. Where is this 
doctrine taught in all the Bible? Point me out the chap- 
ter and the verse, if you can! Whilst nothing of that 
kind can be found in all the sacred volume, we find it thus 
written : " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with 
thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor know- 
ledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." 
Eccl. ix. io. Again : " The night cometh, when no man 
can work." Again : " He that is unjust, let him be unjust 
still ; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still ; and he 
that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that 
is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. xxii. if. And again: 
"The rich man also died and was buried, and in hell he 
lifted up his eyes, being in torments." Luke xvi. 23. 
But if these passages may, by wit and ingenuity, be set 
aside, there is one which certainly cannot, and I do think 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



121 



it must settle the matter with modern Universalists for- 
ever. It is the language of the Saviour, "If ye believe 
not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." We know 
that many do not receive Christ as the Messiah* We 
know that many do not believe in him at all. Now, says 
the Saviour, " If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die 
in your sins;" and he that dies in sin, of course must 
perish. But whilst there are many, very many other pas- 
sages of Scripture fatal to the doctrine of universal salva- 
tion, permit me to quote only two more. " The hour 
cometh," says the Saviour, " when all that are in their 
graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall 
come forth ; they that have done good, to the resurrec- 
tion of life, and they that have done evil, to the resurrec- 
tion of damnation." John v. 29. The second passage is 
found in Genesis vi. " And God saw that the wickedness 
of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination 
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually; 
and God said, I will destroy man from the face of the 
earth : but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." 
Now, mark, God purposes to give an awful display of his 
wrath and indignation against the workers of iniquity, 
and, at the same time, to show his special regard for 
righteous Noah, who had found grace in his sight. And 
what does he do? Why, he stretches forth the hand of 
his omnipotence, breaks up the fountains of the great 
deep, opens the windows of heaven, sends a mighty flood 
of waters upon the earth, and sweeps the whole world of 
the ungodly right up into heaven/ , Every man that was 
upon the face of the earth is swept right up into heayen, 



122 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



except righteous Noah ! and he, poor man, who had 
found grace in the eyes of the Lord, is left to toil and 
struggle, and suffer affliction here on earth ; whilst the 
abominable ones, who were so wicked that God could 
not endure them on earth, are taken immediately to his 
bosom in heaven ! Moreover, if the Universalist is right, 
the sexton, who puts the body down into the grave, called 
hell, is more to be feared than any other being in the 
universe. See Luke xii. 5. Men and brethren, can you 
believe this? Certainly not! No man in his senses can 
believe it — then the case is settled; the Universalist is 
weighed in the balances, and found wanting; and if he 
should have no better foundation than he now has, as 
sure as there is a God in heaven, he will perish, and 
perish forever! With regard to the Universalists of for- 
mer times, otherwise called hell-redemptionists, the doc- 
trine embraced is so completely at war with the doctrine 
of grace, and the whole tenor of the sacred volume, that 
the theory of universal salvation on that plan is now 
exploded; and being given up pretty much, even by its 
own former advocates, we need only remind you of the 
great gulf, which, according to the Saviour, is fixed 
between heaven and hell, which is never to be passed; 
and also remind you of the language of the Saviour in 
the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, and which describes 
the winding-up scene of the great judgment-day: "And 
these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the 
righteous into life eternal." Having weighed in the 
balances of the sanctuary those who embrace fundamental 
error, we proceed to bring forward— 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



123 



Class II. This embraces those who may be very correct 
in sentiment, but are not so in practice. And, 

1. Let the unrighteous be weighed in the balances of 
the sanctuary; and by the unrighteous man, I mean the 
fraudulent man, the dishonest man, the intemperate man, 
the gambler, the swindler, the man of cruelty and extor- 
tion; in short, all who openly and daringly trample upon 
the golden precept, " Whatsoever ye would that men, 
should do to you, do ye even so to them." O, what a 
long, long list of crimes has the unrighteous man to 
answer for! crimes various and multiform — against Go A — 
against man — against his own. He has not only neglected 
the lesser duties of social life, but the greater matters of 
the law. Against such, the blessed Saviour denounces 
an awful woe ; but the apostle Paul, in few words, settles 
the matter forever: "Know ye not," says he, "that the 
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be 
not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor 
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with 
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor 
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of 
God." O, unrighteous man! openly wicked man! 
*- Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found want- 
ing." 

2. Let the worldling next be placed in the balances. 
Some are worldlings, who* would not, and should not be 
esteemed unrighteous men, in the common acceptation 
of that term. By the worldling, I simply mean the per- 
son who loves the world, who loves it supremely; who 
is ready to say, " Give me riches, honors, pleasures ; give 



124 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



me, moreover, health, friends, and long life, and this 
world will do for me; I desire no better." 

And now, let us view the worldling in his threefold 
character — as a man of fashion, a man of pleasure, and a 
man of business. Is he a man of fashion ? He loves the 
praise of men more than the praise of God, the very char- 
acter condemned in the sacred volume. (John xii. 43.) Is 
he a man of pleasure ? Then, according to the prophet, 
he has committed two evils : " He has forsaken his 
Maker, the Fountain of living waters, and has hewn out 
unto himself broken cisterns, which can hold no water." 
But is he a man of business? Mark this worldling! The 
morning dawns; he rises, refreshed and invigorated by 
the slumbers of the night; but he offers no thanksgivings 
to God for the repose and protection of the night He 
leaves his chamber without prayer. And now he goes 
forth to the pursuits of the day. Still mark that world- 
ling ! His head, his heart, his soul, all are fastened upon 
the things of this world. He has no interval of serious 
thought; never once does he say, " God be merciful to 
me, a sinner!" And now the shades of evening prevail; 
he returns to his dwelling, and is there greeted by an 
affectionate wife, and sweet, rosy, lovely children. Yes, 
the worldling, it maybe, is in the midst of domestic com- 
forts, one would think, enough to melt a heart of rock, 
enough to warm his whole soul into . gratitude and love. 
But he thinks not of his heavenly Benefactor; never once 
says, " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his 
benefits." Alas ! he suffers the mercies of Heaven to lie 
"forgotten in unthankfulness, and without praises die!" 



THE SINNER WEIGHED* I2jj 

He is the head of a family j he has servants, and he has 
children, and it is his duty to set before them a good and 
pious example— his bounden duty * to lure to brighter 
worlds, and lead the way.;" but he neglects his duty, Alas! 
the morning and the evening sun shines upon a prayer- 
less household. He lives as if there was no God in the 
heavens to inspect his conduct; as if there was no judg- 
ment bar, at which he must one day appear! The fact 
is, although he may not think so, he is a practical atheist, 
He loves the world, loves it supremely; the world is his 
portion, his home, his ail! Now what says the Bible? 
"'Love not the world, neither the things of the world; 
for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is 
not in him." O worldling, worldling, listen to me! Thou 
art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting! And 
now, **■ What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole 
world; and lose his own soul?" O, think upon this. If 
any man ever gained the world, that man was Alexander 
the Great. And now, suppose, after all, that he died in 
sin, and is now in the world of woe; what does it all, this 
moment, avail him? Come along, ye worldlings, come 
■along with me, and let us, so to speak, go to the borders 
of the pit, and call up the shade of Alexander the Great 
from the vasty deep of hell.— Where is Alexander the 
Great? Let him now appear! Methinks there I see 
him — -but how changed! Is this Alexander the Great? 
I see no glittering crown upon his head! no royal robes 
invest his form !— his hand, too, it grasps no sceptre ! 
and his mighty generals, where are they? I see them 
not! Is this Alexander the Great? O that sepulchral 



126 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

groan! that unearthly sound, that comes rattling upon 
my ear : " Call me not Alexander the great, call me Alex- 
ander the lost T Unhappy shade ! and art thou indeed 
lost, and lost forever? " O, Alexander the Great, what 
wouldst thou now give in exchange for thy soul?" An- 
other sepulchral groan, another unearthly sound! — " Give! 
I would give all the kingdoms I ever conquered — I would 
give all the sceptres I ever grasped ! all the laurels I ever 
won ! — I would give the world — ten thousand worlds, to 
come out of this pit of despair!" But hark! that rush of 
agony, that shriek of despair ! The lost spirit, in hell, is 
sinking down, deeper, and deeper still! O worldling, 
worldling, think ! Remember, you are now weighed in 
the balances, and found wanting ; and I repeat the 
solemn interrogatory of the Saviour, " What is a man pro- 
fited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own 
soul ?" O think upon this, before it be too late ! 

3. Let the profane swearer next be placed in the bal- 
ances. Because of swearing, says the prophet, the land 
mourneth. There were profane swearers in his day; and 
alas! there are but too many in our times; and, weighed 
in the balances of the sanctuary, nothing can be plainer 
than that they are found wanting; for the Psalmist says, 
"Thine enemies, O God, take thy name in vain." And 
what is the language of the eternal God himself? "Thou 
shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for 
the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name 
in vain." This sin indicates peculiar hardihood, as it is 
so expressly forbidden ; and what makes the matter worse, 
it is a kind .of a gratuitous sin, being committed without 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



127 



any adequate temptation. And this reminds me of the 
remark of an old writer, quaint, it is true, but very forci- 
ble. "The devil," says he, "sometimes turns fisherman, 
and when he fishes for ordinary sinners, lie is willing 
to go to some expense; he baits his hook with the 
riches of the world, the honors of the world, and the 
pleasures of the world ; but when he fishes for profane 
swearers, he throws them the naked hook ! and they 
bite at the naked hook ! — cheap even in the devil's 
account." Of a truth, profane swearing is a dreadful 
sin, and seems, perhaps more than any other, to be 
the bubbling up of sheer depravity. Thank God, some 
are, in mercy, made to see it, and repent before it is too 
late. I recollect a case ; it interested me much at the 
time, and I think I shall never forget it. During a pro- 
tracted meeting in a certain town in Kentucky, a gentle- 
man of some considerable note called upon me at my 
lodgings. He wished to connect himself with the church 
on the following Sabbath. He had been remarkably pro- 
fane, but the Lord had been merciful to him, and he was 
now, as he hoped, a converted man. The case was this . 
He once had a lovely boy, an only son; this beloved 
child gave evidence of early piety. When perhaps not 
more than nine years of age, he was laid upon a sick and 
dying bed. He talked sweetly about Jesus, and much 
about heaven. On one occasion, when near his end, he 
called his father to his bedside, and, with great respect 
and affection, said, " Papa, I wish to make one request of 
you before I die." "What is it, my darling?" said the 
weeping father, bending over his beloved and now dying 



128 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



child. " O my dear son, your father is willing to do any* 
• 

thing in the world for you ; what do you wish me to do ?" 
" Papa," said the dying child, " dear papa, if you please \ 
doiit siuear any more!' The father, as he narrated the 
affecting incident, wept. Tears rolled down his cheeks. 
" O sir," said he to me, " I never had anything to come 
with such power to my soul before— the language of 
my dying boy, ' Papa, dear papa, if you please, don't 
swear any more! Sir, it was blessed to my poor soul." I 
need only add, that the next day I saw that man seated 
at the table of the Lord ; and may we not suppose that 
when he comes to die, his cherub boy will hover over 
his dying bed, and be the first to welcome his happy 
spirit home to glory and to God ! And now, if there be 
a single profane swearer present, let me say to him, as 
that dear dying child did to the father whom he loved, 
" If you please, dont swear any more!" 

4. Let the hollow-hearted professor of religion next be 
placed in the balances. Strange as it may appear, Vol- 
taire took the sacrament of the Lord's Supper! Yes, that 
mouth of his, which uttered blasphemies against the Son 
of God — which taught treason against the divine and im- 
maculate Jesus — that mouth received the memorials of a. 
dying Saviour's love. Can such a solemn farce as this 
please a holy God ? " Nay, verily, be not deceived, God 
is not mocked : whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
also reap." No matter what may be the profession or 
outward show, if the heart be not sincere and right in the 
sight of God, it is all as a sounding brass and a tinkling 
cymbal. Even if there be no wilful hypocrisy, or out- 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 1 29 

ous blasphemy, as in the case of Voltaire, a mere 
fession of religion can avail nothing, for "a solemn 
und upon a thoughtless tongue" is a poor thing, and 

"God abhors the sacrifice, 
Where not the heart is found." 

Ah ! my brethren, believe me, sacramental wine can 
never wash away the sins of the soul ; nor can baptismal 
water cool the tongue of the false-hearted professor of 
religion in hell, tormented in penal flames 1 Professor of 
religion, remember the parable of the ten virgins ! It is 
quite possible to have the lamp of profession without the 
oil of grace ; the form, without the power of godliness. 
And O remember, peculiarly deep and dreadful must be 
the damnation of those who fall from the heights of Zion 
into the flames of hell ! Methinks, through all eternity the 
thoughts of the sacramental board~will haunt them ; and 
most terrible will it be to see those who once sat down 
with them at the table of the Lord, now in heaven, whilst 
they themselves are cast out ! O, then, let all who are in 
communion with the church now examine themselves, 
whether they be in the faith ; remembering the words of 
the apostle : " Neither circumcision^vaileth anything, nor 
uncircumcision, but a new creature." Let all who are 
professors of religion dig deep and lay a good foundation, 
for, according to the Scriptures, the mere profession of 
religion, without the root of the matter, will not save the 
soul. The hollow-hearted professor of religion, then, 
having the name without the thing named, the form with- 
out the power of godliness, is weighed and found wanting, 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



And now, as I wish to benefit eveiy soul present, and 
as some may think the preacher has not reached their 
/ case, as they do not acknowledge themselves to belong 
exactly to any of the characters specified, permit me to 
put in the balances of the sanctuary one character more, 
and sure I am it will embrace all who are not on their 
way to heaven. 

5. The unrenewed, no matter who they are, or what 
they are, in other respects, they too are certainly wanting: 
for mark ! if unrenewed, they have never repented of their 
sins ; and what says the Scriptures ? " Except ye repent, 
ye shall all likewise perish." If unrenewed, they have not 
believed in the Lord Jesus Christ And what says the 
Bible? 14 He that believeth not, shall be damned." And 
again: "If unrenewed, they have not been born again." 
And what says the glorious Son of God? "Except a 
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
No matter, then, my dear friends, who or what you may 
be, I tell you the truth in Christ Jesus, I lie not, if you 
have not been renewed in the temper and disposition of 
your souls — in other words, if you have not experienced 
a change of heart, and become a new creature in Christ 
Jesus, you are still in" the gall of bitterness and bond of 
iniquity, and dying in that state, will certainly be lost. I 
have noticed that in every community there are persons 
who seem to be near the kingdom, but are not in it. They 
are amiable; they are interesting; they have some fine 
traits of character; but they are not converted. They 
remind us of what is said of Naaman. "Now Naaman, 
captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



with his master, and honorable; moreover, he was a 
mighty man in valor, but he was a leper," So these per- 
sons have many things to recommend them to the respect 
and affection of those around; but, alas! they are stran- 
gers to God's converting grace. Mark that venerable 
man ! His locks are silvery with age ; benignity is seated 
upon his brow; humanity lights up his faded counte- 
nance: he has a purse for the needy, a shelter for the 
houseless, and a heart to sympathize with the sons and 
daughters of affliction. Perhaps, too, the patriot's flame 
still burns in his aged bosom; but is this all? Alas! his 
knees have never been bent in humble prostration at the 
mercy-seat! His hands have never been lifted up in 
humble supplication at the throne of heavenly grace ! 
Whilst the snows of fifty, sixty, seventy winters have been 
bleaching his locks, his heart has been cold, fast bound 
up in the ice of morality. What a pity that such a ven- 
erable man should, in the day of judgment, be found 
wanting! There goes an interesting young man ! He 
has the flush of youth, joined with the discretion of riper 
years. He is admired and caressed, and deservedly, too, 
for he has an affectionate heart, a noble and a generous 
spirit! He is no debauchee; he is regular in all his 
hours, temperate in all his indulgences; no profane ex- 
pressions pollute his lips; the world can see no stain in 
his moral character. He is the champion of morality, and 
even the advocate of religion. But is this all ? Alas ! he 
has entered the vestibule, but he has not entered the 
temple of religion. He has found many pearls, precious 
pearls, too, but not the " one pearl of great price." He 



132 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



\\as many things to recommend him, like the young man 
in the gospel ; but, like the same young man, he lacks 
the one thing needful; and lacking this, he lacks the key 
to heaven. And see, too, that interesting young female! 
Her temper is sweet, her manners are pleasing, her person 
is lovely ; fair as the first rose that bloomed in Paradise, 
and her admirers say she has 

" Grace in her steps ; heaven in her eye ; 
In all her gestures dignity and love." 

She is her mother's rose, her father's pride, and the life 
of the circle in which she moves. But is this all? Alas! 
she is no Mary — has not chosen that good part which 
should not be taken from her: her heart is upon the 
world — she is a "lover of pleasures more than a lover of 
God. 1 ' Like the interesting young man just mentioned, 
she has entered the vestibule, but not the -temple of reli- 
gion; has found many pearls, but not the "one pearl of 
great price;" has many things to recommend her; but, 
like that amiable young man, (who, perchance, may be 
her brother,) she, too, lacks the one thing needful; and 
lacking this, she lacks the key to heaven! O who will 
n^t weep when such persons, who seem to be so near the 
kingdom, refuse to come to Christ, and perish in their 
sins? But some persons may think it would be unjust 
in God to punish such innocent persons, and not right to. 
send such "good-hearted" ones to the world of woe; but 
let it be remembered, the Bible recognizes no innocence 
on earth but that which consists in the forgiveness of sins; 
and no good-heartedness on earth but that which con- 



THE SINNER WEIGHED. 



133 



sists in the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of 
the Holy Ghost. The fact is, according to the Scriptures, 
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God ; and 
by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his 
sight; and hence it is written: " Other foundation can 
no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ." And it 
is true of all, " Except a man be born again, he cannot 
see the kingdom of God." All, then, who are unrenewed, 
are in a state of wrath and condemnation. Weighed in 
the balances, they are found wanting. 

And now, my dear brethren, in closing, permit me to 
remark: I have brought forward several classes of charac- 
ters, and weighed them in the balances of the sanctuary. 
Have I sketched the characters correctly ? Have I 
weighed them with an even hand ? Have any of you, 
my dear hearers, been weighed and found wanting? O, 
this is a serious matter ! Should the visible fingers of an 
invisible angel now write tekel over against you, upon the 
plaster of the wall, would not strange alarm seize upon 
you ? Would you not, like Belshazzar, cry out in terror? 
And now tell me, O ye careless, Christless souls ! tell me, 
what matters it whether the visible fingers of an invisible 
angel write tekel on the wall against you, or the finger of 
inspiration write it here, in this volume, as with a sun- 
beam? You, then, who have been weighed and found 
wanting, tell me, do you not believe that you must die? 
and dying, do you not believe that you must g to the 
judgment bar? and going to the judgment bar, do you 
not believe that you must be judged out of the things 
written in the sacred volume ? And does not this book 



134 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



now condemn you ? and if so, believe me, there is nothing 
wanting, this moment, to fix your unhappy doom, but for 
God to fix your present character. And this he may do 
in one moment, quick as lightning, and terrible as the last 
trump! O, should the sun now be turned into darkness, 
and the moon into blood ; should the stars now fall from 
the heavens, and the powers of the heavens be shaken ; 
should the archangel's trump, louder than ten thousand 
thunders, and more awful than the hoarse crash of falling 
worlds, now wake up the slumbering dead! O, should 
you now see the Judge descending, the throne erected, 
the books opened, the balances, in which souls and their 
actions are to be weighed, poised aloft, and your souls 
about to be weighed — would you not tremble? Con- 
scious that you are wanting, would not overwhelming 
horrors seize upon your soul? O, then, what a mercy 
that you did not die last night ! or when you were last 
sick ! O what a mercy that you are not now in eternity 
— your character fixed, your doom sealed forever! What 
a mercy that you are still in the land of the living — still 
in a state of probation, and still under hope of heavenly 
grace! And now what is to be done? Fly to Christ. 
Take refuge in his arms; for, sprinkled with his atoning 
blood, and found in him, you are safe. His blood cleanseth 
from all sin; and, arrayed in his righteousness, your souls 
shall find acceptance with God, and be secure amid all the 
thunderings and lightnings, and terrors of the judgment- 
day ! O, sinner, fly to Christ. He is your only hope; 
and fly without delay. Death may be near! Eternity 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. I 3 5 



may be just at the door! And, therefore, what thou 
doest, do quickly ! 

« Sinner, perhaps this very day 
Thy last accepted time may be ; 
O, shouldst thou grieve Him now away, 
Then hope may never beam on thee I" 



SERMON VI. 

THE CHARACTER AND REWARD OF THE EARTHLY 
MINDED. 

Shame shall be the promotion of fools.— Paov. iii. 35. 

The Proverbs of Solomon are full of instruction ; the 
language may sometimes appear harsh and abrupt, but 
the meaning is so much the more striking and impressive. 
This is the case with the passage at present under con- 
sideration. "Shame shall be the promotion of fools." 
Here, you will observe, the wise man calls persons of a 
certain description fools ; and let it be remembered, he 
did n t mean those void i reason, who are fools in a 
natural sense; but those who, in matters of religion, act 
as if they were void of reason, and therefore may be 
called fools in a scriptural sense. The main difference 
between the one and the o L her seems to be this : The one 
acts in opposition to sound reason, through lack of a good 
understanding ; the other through lack of a right disposi- 
tion. It is no uncommon thing for persons of a certain 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



description, proud of their own supposed wisdom, to look 
rather contemptuously upon the people of God, and to 
esteem them as poor, weak-minded, deluded ones; and 
sometimes they even hesitate not to pronounce them 
fools. This day, I trust, the tables will be turned, and 
this reproach will be rolled away. Our purpose, at this 
time, is, by simple, common sense, and scriptural argu- 
ment, to establish this proposition, that all unconverted 
persons- — that all who, taken up with the things of this 
world, neglect the higher interests of eternity — that they 
are justly chargeable with folly, supreme folly. And this, 
I think, will appear in the two following particulars : first, 
in the choice which they make; and secondly, in the 
conduct which they pursue. 

I. In the choice which they make. — We very frequently, 
and very correctly, form an idea of a person's wisdom or 
folly from what he chooses and most values. If, for 
example, a person should prefer an object * f real and 
great value to one of little or no value, as far as the case 
goes, we form a favorable opinion of that person's wis- 
dom. But suppose the case be exactly the reverse. Sup- 
pose the man should prefer rags to robes, pebbles to 
jewels, the shadow to the substance, and counterfeit to 
genuine bank bills, would you pronounce him wise? I 
think not. And suppose, when this person is remon- 
strated with in regard to the folly of his choice, he should 
continue perseveringly to make the same foolish choice, 
would you not be strongly tempted to pronounce him a 
fool ? Now why should not the principle hold just as 
well in spiritual as in temporal things? I think it does. 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. I 3 7 

And now, what do sinners choose? They make many a 
ice ; I will state a few by way of specimen. 

First. — The sinner prefers the favor of man to the favor 
of Gud. That he does so is manifest, because, whilst he 
is tremblingly alive to his character, as it stands in the 
eyes of his fellow creatures, he usually cares very little 
how his character stands in the eyes of his Maker. It is 
well known that the sinner will go to much greater 
lengths to please man than to please God. Nay, he will 

quently do what he knows full well is displeasing to 
God, and that for the express purpose of securing the 
favor of a fellow creature! Now what does this prove? 
Most assuredly, that he sets a greater value upon the 
fay r of man than upon the favor of God. And now, 
w ich is worth the most ? With regard to the favor of 
man, if of the right kind, certainly it is of some value; 
and I am free to say with the poet, " Poor is the friendless 
master of a world !" But after all, it is well known that 
the favor of man is oftentimes deceitful. O how fre- 
quently do we find that they of whose favor and friend- 
ship we thought ourselves perfectly sure, strangely cool 
off! We cannot imagine what has wrought the change, 
but with regard to the fact that they are no longer our 
friends, that is but too clear; and, in the moment of 
excitement, we are ready to say, in the language of Scrip- 
ture, " Cursed is the man that putteth his trust in man." 
But suppose this friend is a fast and faithful friend, we 
may be in a thousand different circumstances in which 
his friendship could avail us nothing. We may be laid 
upon a bed of sickness and languishing, and he know 



138 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



nothing at all about the matter. He may be far distant; 
mountains may tower, or oceans roll between us; or, say 
he is near at hand, standing at our side, and witnessing 
our distress; his tears may trickle down his cheeks, and 
all the tenderest sympathies of his heart may be excited; 
nay, he may even be willing to share our sorrows with us, 
but in spite of all his flowing tears, and the tender sym- 
pathies of his affectionate heart, we suffer, we agonize, we 
die, and there is only a new display of the impotency of 
human friendship. Such is the favor of man, frequently 
fickle, and not to be relied upon ; and even when of the 
best stamp, oftentimes of no substantial value; and yet 
the sinner prefers the favor of man — to what? Angels 
in heaven, would ye believe it? — the sinner prefers the 
favor of man to the favor of God ! I have told you what 
the favor of man is worth ; and now what is the value of 
the favor of God? O ye children of the heavenly King! 
ye precious sons and daughters of Zion, what do you say? 
I am sure the language of the Psalmist is your language: 
" Thy favor, O God, is life ; thy loving kindness is better 
than life." Yes, if I should pour down at your feet all 
the silver and the gold in the world, and offer that in 
exchange for the favor of God, would you take it? 
Would you not rather be ready to say, " Go and offer a 
monarch a bubble for his crown, and if he accepts, yet 
will not I." The favor of God! Go and ask that young 
convert, who, for the first time in his life, has tasted that 
the Lord is good and gracious — that young convert 
whose countenance is dressed in smiles, and whose heart 
is now filled with a peace and joy unknown before — ask 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. I 39 

that young convert what he thinks of the favor of God. 
" O !" says he, " I never knew what real happiness was 
until I had a sweet sense of God's forgiving love. Truly 
his favor is life, and his loving kindness better than life." 
The favor of God ! Go and ask that dying Christian, 
just on the wing for glory — that dying Christian, just 
uttering those beautiful lines of Watts, 

"Jesus can make a dying bed 

Feel soft as downy pillows are"— 

Go and ask that dying Christian what he tninks of the 
favor of God. "The favor of God!" he replies. "O it is 
everything now to me. It is that which gives me now 
more comfort than tongue can express ; it is that which 
softens my dying bed, and strews it all over with the 
roses of paradise ! — it is that which brightens the dark 
scenery of the grave, and now raises me quite above the 
fear of death. O, it is infinitely more valuable to me now 
than ten thousand thousand worlds !" The favor of God ! 
—Go through yonder pearly gates, and ask those bright 
and happy spirits who, robed and crowned, are now cir- 
cling the throne, rejoicing in heaven. Go and ask them 
what the favor of God is worth to them. Methinks, with 
one voice, they would say : " It is the favor of God which 
makes us happy here. It is the favor of God which rolls 
a tide of rapture all over this eternal world of joy. It is 
the favor of God which makes heaven — heaven indeed to 
our souls !" Yes, my brethren, believe me, if the favor 
of God were withdrawn, angels themselves would be sad; 
the spirits of the just would be wrapt in gloom, and the 



I40 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

dwellings of the blessed would cease to charm. The 
favor of God ! O ! it is everything which men on earth, 
or angels in heaven can desire \ and yet the sinner in his 
wisdom prefers the favor of man to the favor of God! 
That is, he prefers the rags to the robes, the pebbles to 
the jewels, and the shadow to the substance! Is the sin- 
ner a wise man? Judge ye! 

The second foolish choice which the sinner makes is 
this : — He prefers the interests of the body to the interests 
of the soul. That he does this is evident, because with 
him the body is .the favorite. It is fed, it is clothed, it is 
tenderly cherished ; and when sick, O then no pains, no 
expense is spared to restore it to health : but the soul, 
alas ! with the sinner it is like a poor, motherless child, 
-sadly neglected. It may be sick nigh unto death, even 
the bitter pangs of the second and everlasting death, and 
yet it excites no interest; no provision is made * for its 
comfort, nor even for its safety ! Yes, whilst the sinner 
is so careful of his body, he really treats his soul as if it 
were a thing of no value. Now, let us compare one with 
the other — what is the body, and what is the soul? What 
is the body? It is of the earth, earthy. What is the 
soul? The breath of the Almighty! What is the body? 
It is allied to the beasts that perish. What is the soul? 
Allied to Him that liveth forever and ever. Whilst the 
body is confined to a small spot of earth, the soul ranges 
through the vast fields of creation, examines the beauty 
of the various parts, the amazing grandeur of the mighty 
whole. Rising above all worlds, the soul of man ap- 
proaches the throne of Him whom the heaven and the 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. I4T 

heaven of heavens cannot contain; contemplates his eter- 
nal power and Godhead, and all the high, and all the 
lofty things which belong to the Divine nature. Stand- 
ing, as it were, by the throne of the great Creator, it 
looks back to the period when, as yet, no sun had lighted 
- up the heavens ; not a star had, as yet, glittered upon 
"the mantle of unessential night." Spreading its airy 
wings, it shoots forward into futurity, and, outstripping 
ti e roll of ten thousand thousand ages, it there hovers 
over the vast, the boundless ocean of eternity; then 
climbing the immortal heights of the New Jerusalem, it 
revels in all the joys of the paradise of God; or, cast 
down to fiery deeps and endless night, it converses with 
groans unpitied, unrespited ages of hopeless end. The 
body and the soul compared together ! O, tell me, what 
is the body ? " Fragile, frail as vegetation's tender leaf, 
or, as the passing meteor, brief! When long this misera- 
ble frame shall have vanished from life's busy scene, that 
sun shall flame, those orbs shall roll, as though this dust 
had never been!" What is the soul? "Immortal mind! 
by grovelling matter unconfined! the same when states 
and empires change ! When suns have waned, and 
worlds sublime their final revolutions told, the soul shall 
flourish over time, as though such orbs had never rolled !" 
And yet the sinner prefers the interests of the body to 
the interests of the soul. Is the sinner a wise man ? Is 
he not a fool ? I do not say that he is ; I lay the argu- 
ment before you ; you have an understanding as well as 
the speaker; judge ye! 

The third foolish choice of the sinner is this: he pre- 



142 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

fers temporal pleasure to eternal happiness; and in so 
doing, verily, he prefers the rags to the robes, the pebbles 
to the jewels, and the shadow to the substance. But that 
the sinner does make the choice which we affirm, can be 
known and read of all men, for his incessant cry is, " Who 
will show me any good?" And although the objects of 
pursuit are exceedingly diversified, they are all of an 
earthly stamp. Some seek enjoyment in the riches of 
the world, some in the honors of the world, and some in 
the pleasures of the world. But now tell me, my hearers, 
when did these things ever yet make man or woman 
happy? If riches could make one happy, I suppose that 
Haman ought to have been a very happy man ; for he 
was so rich that he could offer king Ahasuerus no 
less than a thousand talents for the destruction of the 
Jews. But was Haman happy? You recollect that, on 
a certain occasion, he called together his friends, and 
Zeresh, his wife, and told them of all the glory of his 
riches, and then added: "All these things avail me 
nothing, so long as I see Mordecai, the Jew, seated at 
the king's gate !" Here was a worm at the root of his 
happiness. If military honors could make one happy, I 
should suppose that Alexander the Great might have 
been a happy man ; but he was not, for we are told he 
wept because he had not another world to conquer. If 
sensual gratifications could make one happy, I should 
think that Colonel Gardiner might certainly have been a 
happy man; for he was emphatically a man of pleasure, 
and was even called " The happy rake." But was he 
happy ? O no, for he himself, after his conversion, testi- 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. 1 43 

fies that once, when he was in the very midst of all the 
pleasurable indulgences of the world, a dog happening to 
come into the room, he actually sighed, and said to him- 
self, "O that I were that dog!" Ah! my brethren, 
believe me, "the v/orld can never give the bliss for which 
we sigh." And, in truth, we can no more expect to find 
perfect happiness in the world and the things thereof, 
than we may expect to find 

" Mellow grapes beneath the icy pole I 
Blooming roses on the cheek of death ; or 
Substance in a world of unsubstantial shades." 

Solomon made a full experiment of the matter, for there 
was, it seems, no source of earthly enjoyment to which 
he had not repaired in his pursuit after happiness ; and 
yet in the winding up, he was constrained to say, "Vanity 
of vanities, all is vanity !" Yes, my brethren, it is even 
so. In the possession of riches, in the possession of 
honors, in the possession of all the world calls good or 
great, "the heart, distrustful, asks if this be joy?" But 
now suppose some man of the world, in this assembly, 
should rise up and say, "Sir, you are mistaken. I am no 
Christian; I am a worldling, as you term it, and I am 
happy, perfectly happy; the angel Gabriel is not happier 
than I am." No man, I presume, can make such a 
remark; but if a single one of the human race now upon 
earth should be able to make such a remark, might we 
not reply: Be it so; but, sir, how long is this happiness 
going to last? "The ground of a certain rich man," says 
the Saviour, " brought forth plentifully; and he thought 



144 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have 
no room where to bestow my fruits ? and he said, This 
will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; 
and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods ; and I 
will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up 
in store for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and 
be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night 
shall thy soul be required of thee." 

You see, then, my dear brethren, how the matter 
stands. No unconverted sinner can at any given period 
say, I am now happy, perfectly happy ! No, no ! this 
happiness is always in prospect. Sometimes it may 
appear just at hand, but somehow or other it eludes the 
grasp; and even if the particular object desired be at- 
tained, how certain is there to be some disappointment 
about the matter; and if no disappointment, there is, as 
we have shown, no certainty of a single day's continuance. 
How often do laurels wither whilst yet upon the brow; 
and how often do bubbles burst while we are looking on ? 
At the very time that Nebuchadnezzar considered him- 
self in the plentitude of earthly glory; at the very time 
that he was walking in the palace of the kingdom of 
Babylon, surveying the magnificence of his capital, and 
saying in the pride of his heart, " Is not this great Babylon 
that I have built, for the house of the kingdom, by the 
might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty" — 
Mark ! "While the words were in the king's mouth, there 
fell a voice from heaven unto him, saying, O king Nebu- 
chadnezzar, to thee it is spoken ; the kingdom is departed 
from thee." And so passes away all earthly joy. Such 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. 



145 



is the true character of all temporal pleasure, unsatisfying 
at the best, and transitory at that. O! how can one who 
has an immortal soul, and bound for eternity, content 
himself with a thing so unsubstantial and so evanescent? 
And yet the sinner values it highly; yea, prefers tempo- 
ral pleasure, such as it is, to eternal happiness. Eternal 
happiness! What is it? Were I a glorified spirit, I 
would know it; were I an adoring seraph, I would feel 
it; but were I a glorified spirit or an adoring seraph, I 
could never, no, never describe it : for, according to the 
apostle, " Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, nor hath 
it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath 
prepared for them that love him." Eternal happiness! 
V Beloved/' says the apostle, " now are we the sons of 
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but 
we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, 
for we shall see him as he is." O, think of the beatific 
vision of God and the Lamb; think of the sweet society 
of saints and angels ; think of the perpetual exercise of 
all heavenly affections, the everlasting contemplation of 
all glorious objects ! O think ! No sin, no sorrow there! 
but joy, pure joy, seraphic joy, and joy forever! O, think 
of the soul of the Christian falling asleep in Jesus; waked 
up from the bed of death by the music of the skies, and 
caught up to heaven on angel's wings, it comes into the 
presence of a smiling God ; finds itself within the precincts 
of eternal day ! Glory above, and glory beneath, and 
glory around, and glory within! The whole soul swim- 
ming, as it were, in the pure element of celestial joy. 
0 ; think of being in heaven with the blessed Jesus and 



146 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



his holy angels, and the spirits of the just made perfect, a 
thousand years ! The bare thought of it is enough to 
make the heart of the believer, even on earth, leap for 
joy. Only think of being in heaven amid all its glories 
and its joys a thousand years ! And when that thousand 
years shall have passed away, then another thousand 
years! and then another! and yet another! Bless the 
Lord » 

" When we've been there ten thousand years, 
Bright shining as the sun ; 
We've no less days to sing God's praise 
Than when we first begun." 

What did I say? — Ten thousand years ! Let every leaf 
of the forest stand for ten thousand years of celestial joy; 
let every dew-drop of the morning stand for ten thousand 
years of celestial joy; let every star in yonder firmament 
stand for ten thousand years of celestial joy ; add all these 
together, and even when all these ages heaped on ages 
shall have passed away, we shall have no less days to sing 
God's praise than when we first begun ! O ! who can 
measure the millionth part of the height and depth, and 
length and breadth, of this ocean of eternal happiness — 
eternal joy ! And yet the sinner prefers temporal plea- 
sure, chaffy and transitory as it is, to the whole of it. 
Only think ! he prefers temporal pleasure to eternal hap- 
piness ! that is, he prefers the rags to the robes, the peb- 
bles to the jewels, the shadow to the substance ! Is the 
sinner a wise man ? Men of intellect, judge ye ! 

But if the folly of the sinner appears in the choice which 
he makes, it will appear with equal clearness— - 

II. In the conduct which he pursues. The sinner who, 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. 1 47 



taken up with the things of time and sense, puts away 
from him the higher claims of God and his undying soul, 
does many very foolish things, for example: 

First. — He rebels against God his Maker, refusing to 
submit to his authority, and practically saying by his con- 
duct, who is the Lord, that I should obey him? I know 
not the Lord, neither will I obey his voice. This is im- 
pious, and most foolish too. The sinner rebels against 
God, his Maker, and what harm has God, his Maker, done 
him ? Was it any harm in God to love the world, and 
give his Son to die for its redemption? Was it any harm 
in God to institute the ministry of reconciliation, and send 
one servant after another to persuade the sinner to ground 
the weapons of his rebellion, that it might be well with 
him in the latter end? Was it any harm in God to send 
his Holy Spirit to move upon his heart to draw him to 
ti e foot of the cross, from which spot alone he can ascend 
to glory ? Or was it any harm in God to shower down 
blessings upon the sinner without number, and keep him 
alive when he was not prepared to die ? And yet the sin- 
ner rebels against him ! O what ingratitude and what 
folly! And is there not also madness in this folly? Who 
is the sinner, and who is God, that the sinner should rebel 
against his Maker? The sinner, who is he? Is he not 
an atom of an atom world? And God, who is he? Is 
he not that great and glorious Being who fills with his 
presence all immensity? Who is the sinner? Is he not 
a worm of the dust, and crushed before the moth? And 
who is God? Is he not that great, omnipotent Being, 
"who can create and can destroy;" who "can dash whole 



148 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



worlds to death, and make them when he please" ? O 
think, the s'nner is daily and hourly dependent upon God 
for every mercy, and even for every breath. Yes, it is in 
God that the sinner "lives and moves, and has his being;" 
and this God can, in a moment, raise him to heaven and 
make him an angel of light; or in a moment cast him 
down to hell, and make him a spirit forever damned. 
Now these things being so, the smallest particle of com- 
mon sense one would think sufficient to show that the 
first and most important thing is to secure the favor of 
God ; for if God be for us, who can be against us ? and if 
God be against us, who can be for us ? Now, although 
this principle is just as clear as the sun in the heavens, or 
as clear as anything can be, yet the sinner rebels against 
his Maker; and what is more, continues in this rebellion; 
yes, obstinately continues in this rebellion, not for days 
and weeks only, but for many months, many years ! And 
that, too, when this all-powerful and gracious God, by his 
word, his providence, and his Spirit, is kindly following 
him, saying, " Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die ?" 
and whilst, also, the remarkable words of the apostle are 
yet sounding in his ears : " Now then, we are ambassadors 
for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray 
you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God." In 
spite of all, the sinner rebels against his Maker. Is the 
sinner a wise man ? O no 1 his conduct, in this matter, 
is certainly most foolish and unwise ; and this is not the 
only example, for 

Second. — The sinner is going to an eternal world, and 
makes no preparation for that eternal world. If a person 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED, 



149 



knew that he must go to Oregon, or some other distant 
country, and there spend the remnant of his life on 'earth, 
would it not be right and proper for him to think upon 
the matter, and make some preparation; especially if, 
every now and then, he saw a neighbor starting for that 
country, and knew not but he himself might have to set 
out the very next day? But suppose, in these circum- 
stances, he should take no interest in the matter, make no 
inquiries about the soil there, nor the society there, and 
make no provision for his well-being and comfort there, 
would not this be very strange ? But the sinner is going 
to that world from whose bourne no traveller returns, and 
he makes no preparation whatever. And observe, it is 
quite possible for a person to go to Oregon, or any dis- 
tant country on earth, and even when no preparation had 
been made, find himself very comfortably fixed when ar- 
rived there; but he who enters the eternal world without 
preparation must be miserable forever ! And yet the sin* 
ner makes no preparation. O, what an awful infatuation 
this isl A certain nobleman, as the story goes, had a 
rude wit in his employ, called a fool. Amused with a 
remark of his one day, the nobleman gave him his walk- 
ing cane, with this injunction: "Take this walking cane, 
and keep it until you meet with a greater fool than your- 
self, and then give it to him." The man kept the walk- 
ing cane for a length of time, not meeting with any one 
whom he deemed a greater fool than himself* In process 
of time, however, his lordship was laid upon a dying bed, 
and sending for the rude wit, addressed him thus: " Fare- 
well !" "Where is your lordship going?" said the man. 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



"I am going to my long home," replied the nobleman. 
" Your long home !" rejoined the man, " Your long home ! 
How long is your lordship going to stay there?" " O," 
said the dying nobleman, " I am never to return !" 
" Never to return !" exclaimed the man, " never to return I" 
"No," said the nobleman, "I am going to eternity, and 
am never to return." " Has your lordship made any 
preparation for that long home ?" " No," said he, " I 
have not." "Then," replied the man, "your lordship will 
please to take the walking cane ! You are certainly a 
greater fool than I am ; please to take the walking cane." 
If this be deemed a quaint illustration, sure I am it is 
forcible, and much to the point. Only think 1 the sinner 
is going to an eternal world ! In that eternal world there 
is a heaven of unspeakable and everlasting happiness for 
those who have made preparation for it ; and for those 
who have made no preparation, there is a world of woe, 
an awful hell, which must be his dwelling-place for all 
eternity. And yet the sinner makes no preparation! 
Regardless of his eternal interests, he is trifling with his 
undying soul. Is this acting the part of a wise man ? Is 
it not rather acting the part of a madman and a fool ? O 
ye, who, carried away by the things of this world, forget 
that you have undying souls, that you must soon be in 
eternity, and must soon be in heaven or in hell, O think 
about your need of preparation, before the season for it 
be over and gone for ever! But 

A third exhibition of the sinner's folly is this : He is 
condemned ; a pardon is freely offered by the Lord, and 
he rejects the offered pardon. Now this crowns the 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. I 5 I 



climax of the sinner's folly, and beyond this, I see not 
how madness and folly can go another step! Were you, 
my brethren, ever in a court-house? Did you see a man 
there arraigned on a charge of murder? The judge 
seated, the jury empannelled, the witnesses giving in their 
testimony? Were you present when the jury brought 
in the verdict, Guilty ? Were you present when the judge 
pronounced the sentence of death ?^ O what a moment 
that wast What breathless silence! What painful sym- 
pathy! How was every eye fixed upon the unhappy 
criminal, upon whom the dreadful sentence of the law 
had been pronounced ! You expected, no doubt, to see 
him tremble and turn pale. Suppose he cared nothing 
about the matter; and suppose his counsel should have 
come to him, and said : " O, my dear client, you are con- 
demned, and, I must confess, righteously condemned ; 
but I can't bear the idea of the sentence of the law being 
inflicted upon you ! — I will obtain a reprieve for you, if I 
can; I will get up a petition ; I will go to the governor; 
I will leave no stone unturned to obtain a pardon for you." 
Suppose, I say, in such circumstances, the prisoner at 
the bar, condemned, should turn upon his heel and reject 
the kind offer — would not the judge, the jury, the spec- 
tators — would not all pronounce him a fool? Only 
think : the man is condemned to die, and one offers to 
obtain a pardon for him, and he rejects the kind offer. 
Surely the man is not in his right mind. Now this is a 
true picture of the sinner — every feature exact. Is not 
the sinner found guilty ? Is he not condemned ? Yes, 
for the Bible says expressly, " He that believeth not is 



REVIVAL SERMONS* 



condemned already ;" aye, and according to John the 
Baptist, "the wrath of God abideth upon him"— hangs 
over his head like the stormy cloud, ready to burst at 
any moment; or, like the axe of the executioner, liable 
to fall without a moment's warning, Now in these fear- 
ful circumstances, the blessed Saviour, the sinner's friend 
and advocate, comes to him with tenderness and compas- 
sion, and says; "Q poor sinner, art thou condemned? 
Yes, righteously ; T^ut, sinner, I bring you good news! 
I am come all the way from heaven to earth to seek and 
to save that which was lost! I have made the great 
atoning sacrifice, and now here is a free and full pardon 
offered to you, through faith in my blood!" Take it, 
sinner, and your sins shall all be blotted out! Take it, 
sinner, and you shall have peace with the God that made 
you! Take it, sinner, and you shall die in peace, and in 
the world to come heaven shall be your final home — O 
take it, sinner, your loving, dying Saviour bids you take 
it. It cost him much ; even tears, and groans, and stream- 
ing blood, and the painful death of the cross; but, to 
you, it is offered "without money and without price!" 
And now, what does the sinner do ? Clinging to his 
lusts, he rejects the offered pardon ! He does more than 
this — he grasps, as it were, the soldier's spear, and thrusts 
it into the Saviour's side! He treads under foot the 
blood of the Son of God! "Father, forgive them, they 
know not what they do !" Ah ! my brethren, whether 
we consider the sinner's choice, or sinner's conduct, we 
see that folly, consummate folly, is stamped upon the 
whole. And now, what is to be the end of these things ? 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. I 53 

What says our text? "Shame shall be the promotion 
of fools." O what a poor reward this is ; and yet it is 
all that such folly deserves. As he that sows to the wind 
can reap nothing better than the whirlwind, so " shame 
shall be the promotion of fools." There is, if I mistake 
not, irony as well as truth in the language of our text — ■ 
" Shame shall be the promotion of fools." The idea is 
this : Pluming themselves upon their own supposed wis- 
dom, and lightly esteeming the truly pious, they entertain 
high expectations, and promise themselves great things; 
but shame, everlasting shame only, must be the result of 
all the towering and vain expectations with which impeni- 
tent sinners here are pleased to deceive themselves. 
Shame, we have reason to believe, will constitute one 
very bitter ingredient in the torment of the damned in 
hell. Daniel has reference to this matter : " Many that 
sleep in the dust of the earth," says he, "shall awake; 
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlast- 
ing contempt." 

This shame will arise from several sources : 
I. From disappointment. Should a soldier be cash- 
iered for cowardice, when he expected promotion for his 
supposed bravery ; should an author be cried down, when 
he expected great applause ; or should a person find that 
no mention is made of him in a will, when he expected 
to be one of the principal heirs ; in all such cases, dis- 
appointment would be a matter of shame. How much 
more when the sinner wakes up in eternity, and finds all 
his fond hopes of heaven blasted forever! But shame 
will arise 5 



154 REVIVAL SERMONS 

2. From the full development of character which shall 
then be made. I suppose that the most moral person in 
this assembly would not have things that he has thought, 
and said, and done, to be revealed, even to his own 
domestic circle, for any consideration ; and if this dis- 
closure were made, he would be overwhelmed with shame. 
What, then, will be the amount of that shame which shall 
come upon the sinner when everything which he has ever 
thought, and said, and done, shall be revealed, in the pre- 
sence of God, and angels, and men, in the great judgment- 
day ? 

Some years since, a certain man in one of our Atlantic 
cities was charged with a very base act — was charged 
with opening a letter which had been put into the post- 
office, and divulging some family secrets which that letter 
contained. He denied the charge. A committee was 
appointed to investigate the charge, and make a report. I 
was present when the report was made. In the presence 
of some one ©r two hundred citizens, the chairman of the 
committee came forward and said; "We have investi- 
gated the charge alleged against the gentleman, and find 
it to be true." I saw the man the moment his character 
was thus blasted forever. After one frantic effort with a 
pistol to take the life of the person who had thus exposed 
him, he dropped his head; he could not bear to look 
upon man or woman any more ; and returning to his 
lodgings, he laid himself down upon his bed, and died of 
a broken heart. Shame killed him. And now, if the 
divulging of one base act in such an assembly on earth 
occasioned him such overwhelming, heart-breaking shame, 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. 2 5 5 



O! what intolerable shame must come upon the sinner 
when every base act, when every impure thought, when 
every unlawful deed shall be revealed, as we have said, 
before God, and angels, and men! Methinks, in anguish, 
he will exclaim — "O that I had never had a being!" or, 
" O that I could now hide me beneath the mountain's 
base or the ocean's wave !" " Shame shall be the pro- 
motion of fools V 

3. A third source of shame will be the manifestation of 
the sinner's folly. If a person has acted very foolishly, 
even in common matters, he does not like it to be gene- 
rally known and talked about; but his consummate folly 
in relation to spiritual matters must be known and read 
of all men — aye, and it will be seen and felt by himself, in 
a manner never seen and felt before. That this matter 
may be presented more clearly, suppose that this were the 
judgment-day — trump sounding, dead rising, God de- 
scending, angels shouting, devils wailing, earth burning! 
Suppose, all the solemnities and terrors of the judgment- 
day now before us. The sinner, now stationed upon the 
left hand, finds himself lost forever. He looks back upon 
the scenes of this world, and he remembers — (O, he would 
forget everything if he could, but he cannot — " Son, re- 
member !" said Abraham to the rich man in hell) — yes, 
whether the sinner choose it or not, he must look back 
upon the scenes of this world — whether he choose it or 
not, he will remember — what ? Why, the choice which 
he made, and the conduct which he pursued on earth. 
For example, he will remember that when on earth he 
preferred the favor of man to the favor of God ! Now he 



156 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



sees this great God in all his grandeur and his glory; by 
his almighty arm bearing up heaven, earth, and hell; 
smiling upon the righteous and frowning upon the wicked; 
crowning with bliss and glory the one, and pouring wrath 
and ruin upon the other. And O, to think that when on 
earth he preferred the favor of that man that rotted in the 
grave, or is now, perhaps, damned at his side, to the favor 
of this great and glorious God! O, how will the sinner 
be sensible of his folly then ! How will he cry out, in 
the anguish of his soul, " O, my folly, my madness when 
on earth! Of a truth, I preferred the rags to the robes, 
the pebbles to the jewels, the shadow to the substance. 
I never knew, O, I never knew that I was such a fool 
before!" And he will remember — what? Why, that 
when on earth he preferred the interests of the body to 
the interests of the soul. By that time he will have seen 
the body turned over to corruption and the worm, and 
now he sees the soul in all its capacity for happiness and 
misery; — he sees the souls of the righteous robed and 
crowned, rising, and shining, and corruscating in glory 
unspeakable ; and sees the souls of the wicked shrouded 
in darkness and despair, given over to remorse and an- 
guish which no tongue can tell! When these things are 
before his eyes, what must be his feelings to remember 
that when on earth he preferred the interests of that poor 
dying body, that had to lie down in the grave, to that 
soul so mighty to sustain an exceeding great and eternal 
weight of glory, or an exceeding great and eternal weight 
of sorrow ? In this view of the grandeur and capacity 
of the soul for happiness and misery, will he not cry out: 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. I 57 

O, fool ! O, madman that I was in yonder world, to think 
more of my body than of my soul ! to prefer the little 
interests of the one to the mighty interests of the other ! 
Of a truth, I preferred the rags to the robes, the pebbles 
to the jewels, the shadow to the substance. I never, O, 
I never knew that I was such a fool before ! And there 
is heaven, too ! what a world of glory and of joy ! O, 
heaven, sweet heaven, to me lost forever ! And why ? 
Because on earth I bartered it away for the poor, chaffy, 
short-lived pleasures of time and sense! Where was 
reason then, and whither had my understanding fled ? 
Why was I so infatuated with the world ? O, why did I 
prefer earth to heaven ? Why did I prefer temporal plea- 
sure to eternal happiness? O, my folly, my unspeakable 
folly! Yes, it is true, it is but too true, I was a fool in 
yonder world. I preferred the rags to the robes, the 
pebbles to the jewels, the shadow to the substance ! And 
only to think ! I rebelled against that great and glorious 
God, and although frequently warned, I made no prepara- 
tion for this awful eternity; and to crown my madness 
and my folly, although entreated, I refused offered pardon. 
Ah! yes— ■ 

" Yonder sits the slighted Saviour, 
With the marks of dying love! 
O that I had sought his favor, 
When I felt his Spirit move: 

Golden moments ! 
When I felt his Spirit move!" 

4. The fourth and last source of shame which I shall 
mention is, the company with which the sinner shall be 



158 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



obliged to associate — not with the virtuous and the good, 
but with the infamous and the vile. Only think ! with 
murderers, and robbers, and thieves, and drunkards, and 
liars, and pirates, and gamblers, and hypocrites, and 
extortioners, and all the mean, and all the vile, and all 
the abominable that ever lived and ever died ! And to 
crown the whole, he must have his portion with devils 
damned, and all the foul spirits of the pit ! O, to be 
grouped with such characters ! to have no better society 
than this to all eternity ! how overwhelming the thought, 
and how overwhelming the shame ! Cut off from the 
sweet society of the heavenly world, sinners must be 
linked with the offscouring of all creation; and, verily, 
then shall be brought to pass the prediction of the 
Saviour, "There shall be weeping and wailing, and gnash- 
ing of teeth," when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and 
Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and 
you yourselves cast out! O my soul! there must be 
mourning — mourning, at the judgment-seat of Christ. 
Parents and children there must part; must part to meet 
no more. Husbands and wives there must part; must 
part to meet no more. Brothers and sisters, companions 
and friends, there must part; must part to meet no more. 
O, who can bear the idea of being excluded from the 
dwellings of the blessed, cut off from the society of those 
whom we loved on earth, and cast down to hell, there to 
associate with murderers of fathers, and murderers of 
mothers; with robbers, and liars, and thieves, and swind- 
lers, and pirates, and drunkards; and, as we said, with 
all the mean, and all the vile, and all the abominable ! 



CHARACTER OF THE EARTHLY MINDED. 



159 



And how will it add to the sinner's anguish to think that 
by his continuance in sin he had made himself unfit for 
a better society and a better place! and how will con- 
science, too, torment the sinner's soul, thundering in his 
ear the charge which he cannot deny — " Ye knew your 
duty and did it not." O yes, the sinner will be con- 
strained to say: "I knew what was right, yet did what 
was wrong. O my folly, my madness on earth ! and now 
I wake up to the full conviction of my folly and my mad- 
ness, when it can avail me nothing. O it is too late now ! 
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my poor 
soul is not saved. O that I could return to the earth 
once more! O that I could live my life over again! O 
that I had one hour more to seek salvation in! and if 
this cannot be, O that I had never been born! or, O that 
I had slumbered forever in my grave!" 

My dear unconverted friends, think, O think upon these 
things! A want of thought has ruined many — let it not 
ruin you. O, come now, and let the subject matter of our 
discourse bear upon your own case. What is the choice 
which you have made, and what is the course of conduct 
which you have pursued ? Have you chosen the favor 
of man in preference to the favor of God ? and is this not 
a foolish choice? Then make this choice no more. From 
this moment seek the favor of God as the object of chief 
desire. Have you not set a greater value upon the inter- 
ests of the body than upon the interests of the soul ? and 
have you not chosen temporal pleasure in preference to 
eternal happiness ? O, be persuaded to do this no more, 
lest your orecious souls be cut off from heaven, and you 



i6o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



have none to blame but yourselves ! Have you rebelled 
against your Maker? was this right? Have you neglect- 
ed to make preparation for another and eternal world? 
would you approve of this if now laid upon a dying bed? 
— and have you rejected offered pardon? O, think what 
that pardon will be worth in that day which shall disclose 
"a God in grandeur, and a world on fire!" Come, my 
impenitent friends, O listen to my voice — O attend to my 
counsel ; or rather, listen to the voice, and attend to the 
counsel of Him who is your Maker, and who will soon sit 
in judgment upon your souls. Thus saith the Lord of 
hosts: "Consider your ways: Seek ye the Lord while he 
may be found : Call ye upon him while he is near. Let 
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
thoughts; let him return unto the Lord, and he will have 
mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abun- 
dantly pardon." 

"While God invites, how blest the day, 

How sweet the gospel's charming sound! 
C>me, sinners, haste — O haste away, 

"While yet a pardoning God he's found.** 



THE DELUGE. 



I hi 



SERMON VII. 

THE DELUGE. 

Ana the Lord said into Noah, Couie thou, and all thy house, Into the ark. 
Gen. vii. 1. 

The five books of Moses were written more than three 
thousand years ago, and are supposed to be the most 
ancient records now upon earth. They give a view of 
patriarchal times, and carry up the history of the world 
to its very creation; indeed, the history opens with an 
account of the wonder working power of God exerted 
upon "the void immense," bringing into existence the 
heavens and the earth, with all their rich and varied fur- 
niture. When the mighty work was done, it was all pro- 
nounced very good. Everything was beautiful; every- 
thing was perfect. The whole presented one unbroken 
scene of beauty and enchantment. It was the morning of 
creation, and most lovely was the morning! But, alas! 
too soon there was a sad change ; for man, originally made 
in the moral image of his Maker, sinned! This withered 
everything beautiful upon earth ; this 

"Brought death into the world, and all our woe." 

From the first moment of man's apostasy, the blighting 
influence of sin began to pass over the face of this fair 
creaton, and its direful effects were seen and felt in various 
modes and forms; chiefly in the deep depravity of human 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



nature, and in certain awful manifestations of the Divine 
displeasure against sinning man. 

With regard to human depravity, consequent upon the 
fall, it is remarkable, that the first man ever born into the 
world proved a murderer, and the second was the person 
murdered. This was a sad beginning; and it seemed to 
portend most terrible and disastrous things in time to 
come. It is true that, at the birth of Enos, the grandson 
of Adam, there was a brightening of the prospect; "For/ 
says the historian, "then began men to call upon the 
name of the Lord;" but, alas! it was only as the beaming 
of light in a dark day; it soon passed away, and was suc- 
ceeded by a deeper gloom than ever. Yes, for not very 
long after that period, according to the Scriptures, man 
became exceedingly corrupt. Iniquity began to abound 
in a most frightful manner. The earth was rilled with 
violence. "And God saw," says the historian, "that the 
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every 
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil, 
continually. And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom 
I have created, from the face of the earth ; both man and 
beast. But," continues the historian, "Noah found grace 
in the eyes of the Lord." Here is one faithful Abdiel 
amid legions of apostate spirits — one righteous Noah 
standing alone in his righteousness, in the midst of a 
world lying in wickedness. But, although solitary and 
alone, he was not overlooked. " Noah found grace in 
the eyes of the Lord — and the Lord said unto Noah, The 
end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled 
with violence. Make thee an ark — and behold I, even I, 



THE DELUGE. 



do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all 
flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven ; and 
everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee 
will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the 
ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives 
with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of 
every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keeo them alive 
with thee ; they shall be male and female." 

Never, my brethren, was there a more awful commu- 
nication made from heaven to earth than this; and never, 
it seems, was any divine command more promptly obeyed. 
" For," says an apostle, " by faith, Noah being warned of 
God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared 
an ark to-the saving of his house." Many things might 
have tempted him to demur. The work was great. The 
ark which he was required to construct was to be three 
hundred cubits in length, fifty cubits in breadth, and 
thirty in height; or, according to our measure, about five 
hundred feet long, eighty broad, and fifty high — a most 
gigantic structure. I have calculated the tonnage, and 
find it equal to that of some twenty merchant ships of the 
largest class at the present time. The greatness of the 
work then might have caused him to hesitate in entering 
upon it. And another thing was this : Noah must have 
known very well, that in entering upon a work of this 
kind, so strange and unprecedented, he would n o .t cer- 
tainly subject himself to derision and contempt — would 
become the song of the drunkard, the butt of ridicule with 
many, and by all would be esteemed as a dreaming enthu- 
thusiast, a fool, and a madman ; but none of these things 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



moved him. He had heard the voice of God, and faith 
was triumphant. He staggered at nothing. He verily 
believed that it would be even as God had said; and, 
therefore, according to all that the Lord had commanded 
him, so did he. And now, with zeal and determination, 
he enters upon this work—this strange work. The foun- 
dation of the ark is laid; the gigantic structure rises; and, 
as the work goes on, he warns the world of the ungodly 
of an approaching deluge, and calls upon them to repent 
and turn from their sins ; but his words seem to them as 
idle tales, which they believe not, and therefore his calls to 
repentance are disregarded. Their curiosity, however, is 
excited, and gathering around the ark in crowds, they 
affect to wonder what the good man means. "He says 
there is going to be a flood ! a flood to drown the whole 
world ! Nonsense ! Who ever heard of such a thing ? 
Methuselah, that old man who died the other day, lived 
nine hundred and sixty and nine years — he never saw or 
heard of such a thing. A flood to drown the world ! It 
is all nonsense ! Where can so much water come from ? 
All perfect nonsense ! Poor old man ! Surely, he has 
been dreaming, and his head is turned!" Thus, methinks, 
the unbelieving multitude derided the man of God, and 
made a mock of the whole affair ! The hireling work- 
men, too, methinks, made themselves merry at Noah's 
expense; especially when, the shades of the evening being 
come, they left their, work, and with their boon compan- 
ions, merry over their cups, they would talk about the 
scenes of the day gone by. O what jesting and what 
merriment then 1 Methinks they would tell how serious 



THE DELUGE. 



165 



and sad the old man looked; how, ever and anon, he would 
break out in the language of warning ; and when he saw 
that they made light of it, how he would burst into tears, 
and weep aloud in the presence of them all ! " Well, to 
be sure, it looks a little droll ; but it is all nonsense — a 
dream, perhaps — some strange, foolish dream; but it hap- 
pens very well for us, for the job is a good one, and the 
dreamer is good pay!" My brethren, I do not think that 
I have over-colored the picture. No doubt such remarks 
were made, and many such trials Noah was called upon 
to endure. But he swerved not, but urged on the work, • 
day after day; and as the time appointed drew on, me- 
thinks his warnings were yet more frequent and more loud. 

And now, the ark is finished; the antediluvians have 
filled up the measure of their iniquity; the patience of 
God is exhausted, and the day of vengeance is just at 
hand 

But, as yet, all is calm and serene. There is nothing 
alarming in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in 
the waters under the earth. The shining sun, the azure 
sky, and the gentle breeze, present nothing portentous. 
The events now coming, tremendous as they are, cast 
no shadows before them. Everything is going on in the 
usual way ; the beasts of the earth are roaming in the 
forest ; the birds of the air are flying in the heavens, and 
the fish of the sea are sporting in the deep; still is heard 
the lowing of the oxen, the bleating of the sheep, and the 
music of the groves. The hum of industry too is heard 
on every hand, and the voice of jesting, and the voice of 
mirth, and the shout of the merry-hearted. They are buy- 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



ing ahd they are selling, they are planting and they are 
building, they are marrying and they are giving in mar- 
riage. I repeat it, there is nothing strange or alarming 
in heaven above, in the earth beneath, or in the waters 
under the earth, but everything going on in the usual way. 
And now, in the very midst of this scene of universal and 
deep security, the voice of God is heard! "And the Lord 
said unto Noah, Come thou, and all thy house, into the 
ark." The command is given, faith is again triumphant, 
and Noah leads his family into the ark. Yes, in the view 
• of a wondering crowd, this one righteous man leaves his 
dwelling, and with all his family following, he enters into 
the ark. And now, methinks, mirth and merriment are 
at their height ; jesting and ridicule are on every hand. 
* Well done ! the old dreamer is gone into his ark, sure 
enough. Who ever thought he would carry the matter so 
far? Poor old man! now we know that he has been 
dreaming, and his head is turned, for we see no sign of a 
flood yet; and if he waits there until it comes, he will wait 
long enough, and if he never dies till this mighty deluge 
comes, he will live a little longer than Methuselah, we 
think!" But in the midst of their mirth and jesting, sud- 
denly, methinks, their faces turn pale. They tremble and 
exclaim, " Merciful God ! what is this ! The fowls of 
heaven are flying to the ark, and birds of every wing! 
And see, too, the beasts of the earth are coming from the 
forest in every direction ! And only look upon the 
ground, how it is covered with creeping insects, and rep- 
tiles of every kind, all moving toward the ark, as if led on 
by some invisible hand, or some strange instinct — ominous 



THE DELUGE. 



of some coming evil. O! what can this be?" And now 
the mockers are held in check, and some are almost ready- 
to rush to the ark and beg Noah to let them in ; but it is 
too late now, for Noah and his family having entered in, 
and beasts, and birds, and creeping things, two of every 
kind, as the Lord commanded — Noah ceases to warn; the 
door of the ark is closed, and the doom of an incorrigible 
world is sealed forever ! And now there are strange, 
unprecedented sights, and voices inspiring terror. God 
frowns, and all nature trembles at the frown of its Maker. 
The elements begin to jar, the sun is darkened; the earth 
begins to reel and stagger like a drunken man; the 
waters are troubled, there is a rumbling in the deep — fly- 
ing clouds are seen ; they pass swiftly over the face of the 
sky — darker clouds are rising, east, west, north, south; 
and who ever saw clouds so frowning and so dark ! and 
what flashes of lightning, and what mighty thunderings 
are these ! And now the winds of heaven are let loose ; 
they roar, and sweep tremendously over the earth ; the 
rain descends in torrents, the storm rages more and more; 
the fountains of the great deep are broken up, and the 
windows of heaven are opened; and floods from beneath, 
and floods from above, mingling their waters, enlarge the 
dominions of the deep. The ark is afloat, and the rol- 
ling billows dash upon its sides, and bear it along in 
safety and in triumph. The storm increases, its violence 
is most terrific ; there is one unbroken sheet of lightning, 
and mighty thunders upon mighty thunders rock the 
globe ; amid jarring and roaring elements, heaven and 
earth seem mingling together as if the last great day were 



I 68 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

come. The flood increases! old ocean's barriers exist no 
more! And where are the mockers and the jesters now ? 
None are seen; for fear, now, is in every bosom; and in 
every face dismay. The cry of agony is heard ; it comes 
from every quarter, and the wild shriek of despair mingles 
with the howlings of the storm. The terrified multitudes, 
in wild alarm, rush from place to place seeking refuge, 
and finding none. O, how children cling to their parents, 
and wives to their husbands, and friend to friend, all cry- 
ing for help, but crying in vain! Some hasten to the tops 
of their houses, but find no refuge there ! Some plunge 
into the flood, and swimming around the ark, beg Noah 
to take them in; but the door of the ark is not opened, 
and they struggle, and sink to rise no more! Some rush 
to the hills, but all in vain, for the highest hills are cov- 
ered, and they are swept away! Some climb the trees of 
the forest; but O, the swelling waters rise higher than the 
tallest trees, and they too, are swept away. And now see 
the few that still survive — they are climbing the sides of 
the mountains, the flood pursues them ; they seek safety 
on the tops of the highest cliffs; — but O, the relentless 
flood! it rises higher and higher still ! And now the bil- 
lows pass over the mountain tops, and the last remnants 
of the human race shriek, sink down, and are buried in 
the waters of the mighty deep! All is still now! — all 
save the dashing of the billows and the bellowing of the 
storm ; and nought is seen on any hand, but one wide, 
boundless ocean, with its mighty billows tumbling round 
the globe. Yes, one thing more is seen — the ark! Noah's 
ark ! — yonder it is seen, riding in triumph upon the bosom 



THE DELUGE. I 69 

the troubled deep, amid floating carcasses, and the 
wreck of a ruined world. 

There are some important remarks which I wish to 
make, bearing upon the subject before us. My first re- 
mark has reference to the deluge as a matter of fact; and 
of this there can be no reasonable doubt, for the evidences 
thereof are found, not only in this volume, and in the tra- 
ditions of almost all the nations of antiquity, but they are 
found inscribed upon the very face of the earth, even up 
to the present time. Marine shells, in immense banks, 
are now seen in Georgia, and in many other regions, in 
places remote from the ocean ; and some years ago the 
skeleton of a whale was found embedded in the earth near 
the summit of one of the loftiest mountains in Asia. Deny- 
ing the fact of the deluge, how can these things be ac- 
counted for? In boring the earth in numerous places, 
logs have been found buried forty, fifty, and even sixty 
feet below the surface. If there have been no overflow- 
ings and mighty stirring up of the waters, how can we 
account for so much sediment, or alluvial soil ? More- 
over, in the prairies of the south-west, lone rocks are found 
where no quarry exists ; these rocks are of the same 
nature as those found in the Green Mountains of Ver- 
mont; and if torn from those mountains, and rolled so far, 
how violent and mighty must have been the current 
which detached these rocks from the mountains, and bore 
them with such fury on ! But some have said, the story 
of Noah's flood is all nonsense — a perfect fable. There 
could be no such thing. And why? There is not enough 
water in the atmosphere and connected with the surface 



170 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



of the globe, to submerge it in water. This has not been 
proved; but suppose it were so, who can tell whether 
there may not be vast reservoirs of water in the centre 
of the earth, which by some chemical actcevi might have 
been thrown upon the surface? And this k4i?i* seems to 
be sanctioned by the Psalmist, when, speaking the crea- 
tion of the earth, he says, " Thou hast fourtil^d it upon 
the seas, and established it upon the floods/' Moreover, 
the idea falls in most remarkably wa\h these wojds of 
Moses : " The fountains of the great deep were broken 
up." But suppose it be ascertained that there are no such 
reservoirs of water in the heart of the earth — how easy 
would it have been for Him who originally "stretched the 
north over the empty place, and hung the earth upon 
nothing" — I say, how easy would it have been for Him to 
change the polarity of the globe. This done, the natural 
consequence would be, the emptying of the waters of the 
ocean upon the land. This would account for all the facts 
which we have stated ; and it is a remarkable circum- 
stance, and strongly corroborating this position, that the 
desert of Sahara appears evidently to have been the 
ocean's bed. But we need say nothing more on this 
point, for within my own recollection, the enemies of the 
Bible have changed their notes, and those who were wont 
to say that Noah's deluge was a fable, now admit it to be 
a fact — certain geological discoveries made within twenty 
years past, having placed the matter beyond all reasonable 
doubt. 

The second remark touching the deluge has reference 
to its cause, And here we are not left to conjecture, for 



THE DELUGE. 



171 



the Scriptures are perfectly clear upon this point And 
God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the 
earth; and therefore the Lord said unto Noah, "The end 
of all flesh is come before me. Make thee an ark, and 
behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, 
to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from 
under heaven." Observe, my brethren, it was sin that 
occasioned the deluge. What a dreadful evil then must 
sin be! Some persons look upon sin as a light and 
venial affair. They have been indulging in it, for, lo! 
these many years, and have little concern about the mat- 
ter. O, could they see it as it appears in the sight of a 
holy God, methinks they would tremble and cry out with 
the Jerusalem convicted sinners, " Men and brethren, 
what shall we do ?" It is supposed that there were as 
many persons in the time of the flood as there are at the 
present time, say eight hundred millions; and if so, what 
a fearful comment upon the evil of sin. Eight hundred 
millions of human beings swallowed up in one wide, 
yawning, terrific, watery grave ! O, methinks the flash- 
ing of the lightning, and the pealing of the thunder — the 
roaring of the storm, and the dashing of the waters — all, 
all united to send the notes of warning far and wide. 
Stand in awe, and sin not O, sinner, remember you 
have sinned against the same God that those, in the days 
of Noah, sinned against; and be sure your sin will find 
you out; for you and God must meet And whether you 
choose it or not, you must give account for all the 
deeds done in the body, whether they have been good or 



172 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



bad; and how dreadful will it be for you, if you be not 
prepared for the reckoning ! 

But this leads to a third remark. The deluge may be 
.considered a type of the judgment of the great day; and 
the scenes then presented, as typical of the scenes which 
will be spread before the eyes of all when God shall, in 
the winding up of all human events, come with his chariots 
like a whirlwind to render his anger with fury, and his 
rebukes with flames of fire. If the deluge was. a tremen- 
dous affair, the day of judgment will be more tremendous 
still. When God destroyed the world by the waters of 
the deluge, he came to reckon with the sinners of only 
one generation; but when he shall come, in the day of 
final judgment, he will come to reckon with the sinners 
of every generation. Hence, in reference to it, it is said, 
4< The great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be 
able to stand ? " 

" Day of judgment ! day of wonders I 
Hark! the trumpet's awful sound! 
Louder than a thousand thunders, 
Shakes the vast creation round I" 

O, what scenes of terror will then be presented ! When 
the deluge came, the fountains of the great deep were 
broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened ; and 
the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
blew, and one vast and mighty tornado was upon the face 
of the whole earth, striking with consternation all the 
millions doomed to perish ! But O, how much more 
terrible will be the scenes of the judgment 1 "Great day 
of God Almighty and of the Lamb 1" 



THE DELUGE. 



fe Whence comes that darkness ? Whence those yells of woe? 
What thunderings are these which shake the world ? 
Why fall the lamps from heaven as blasted figs ? 
Why tremble righteous mea ? Why angels pale? 
God comes ! God in his car of vengea&ce comes •! 
Hark ! Louoe ; r on the blast come hollow shrieks 
Of dissolution ! In the fitful scowl 
Of night, near and more near angels of 'death 
Incessant flap their deadly wings, and roar 
Through all the fervid ak ! The mountains rockl 
The moon is sick t Stars, cease you* dancing now^ 
Your graves are dug among the dismal clouds, 
And angels are assembling round your bier*'* 

**And I saw," says the apostle John, "a great white 
throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the 
earth and the heavens fled away:; and there was found no 
place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, 
stand before God ; and the books were opened I and 
another book was opened, which is the book of life; and 
the dead were judged out of those things which were 
written in the books, according to their works. And the 
sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell 
delivered up the dead which were in them; and they 
were judged, every man according to their works." Noth- 
ing can be more terribly sublime than this description* 
Notice-—" And I saw a great white throne, and him that 
sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heavens . 
Hed away; and there was found no place for them/* 
Here is the appearing of the final Judge, and, as an effect, 
the vanishing away of the heavens and the earth! As 
the sun, rising in peerless brightness, throws its splendors 



174 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



upon the world slumbering in darkness, and with its 
effulgence chases away the shades of night and the mists 
of the morning; even so, at the coming of the final Judge, 
the heavens and the earth, substantial as they are, shall 
be only as the shades of the night and the mists of the 
morning. Smitten by the living and insufferable efful- 
gence of his glory, they shall vanish away as the shades 
of the night and the mists of the morning! And what, 
poor sinner, will then become of thee ? Ah, my breth- 
ren, believe me, the day of judgment will come. It is no 
fiction; it is a great Bible truth. The day of judgment 
will come, and you and I must witness all its dread 
solemnities ! Aye, and then that sentence shall be pro- 
nounced upon us, which will place us in heaven or in 
hell ! which will number us with angels of light or spirits 
damned ! and, O, remember this sentence admits of no 
reversal; it will be registered in the archives of heaven, 
and registered for eternity! Woe! woe! woe! to those not 
prepared for the judgment! It would have been better 
for them had they never been born ! 

My fourth remark is this : — -Noah's ark may be con- 
sidered as a type of Christ. One was of divine appoint- 
ment, and so is the other. The one was the only refuge 
— the only means of safety, and so is the other. All who 
were not in the ark perished, and out of Christ assuredly 
there is no salvation. " There is salvation in none 
other," says Peter. " Other foundation," says Paul, "can 
no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ." And 
what says John the Baptist ? " He that believeth on the 
Son has everlasting life; but he that believeth not the 



THE DELUGE. 



175 



Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon 
him." 

According to Scriptures, God is, in Christ, reconciling 
the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto 
them; but out of Christ, God is a consuming fire. O, 
my brethren, believe me, the judgment is coming! the 
day of wrath is drawing nigh, and verily "None but Jesus 
can do helpless sinners good." Let it sink down in the 
ears of all, and never be forgotten, that when God arises 
to judgment, Christ, our blessed Saviour, is the sinner's 
only hope and only refuge; for then the arrows of ven- 
geance shall fly on every hand, and strike every spot not 
protected by the shield of a Saviour's righteousness. 

When the deluge came, those not in the ark were, no 
doubt, filled with strange alarm., and in their terror sought 
refuge, some in one place and some in another. Doubt- 
less some ascended the tops of their houses, but found 
no safety there ! Some climbed the trees of the forest, 
some the lofty hills, and some the towering mountains, 
and some, too, swam around the ark, but all in vain ! 
Within the ark was peace, within was safety; but without 
was wrath and ruin, desolation and death. So sinners 
may seek safety — some in one thing and some in another: 
one relying upon his own righteousness, and another 
upon the intercession of the saints — one upon his prayers 
and tears, another upon his numerous and splendid 
charities — but all in vain ! Absolutely, Christ is the sin- 
ner's only refuge^ — the sinner's only hope. In Christ the 
sinner is safe and happy ; without Christ, lost to all eter- 
nity. 



176 



REVIVAL SERMONS* 



And now, these things being so, permit me to make 
a spiritual and practical application of the subject:— "And 
the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou, and all thy house, 
into the ark." If there be an unconverted father present, 
to him I would now address myself with earnestness and 
affection. O, thou, who art the head of your family— 
thou upon whose arm leans an affectionate wife, and 
around whom cluster beloved sons and daughters — come 
into the ark! You ught to have come a long time ago, 
for, no doubt, since you have had a family, you have 
received many calls and many warnings. Where is that 
beloved Joseph? that dear little Benjamin? that idol of 
your affection ? Alas! torn from your fond embrace by 
the relentless hand of death, that loved one now sleeps in 
the grave ! And was not that providence which made 
this sad breach in your family a loud call? And perhaps 
another was taken, and yet another! But it may be you 
have had a call of another kind. Some of your household 
have been brought into the fold of Christ. What ! shall 
the child be brought in and the parent left out? As the 
head of your family, it was your duty to "allure to 
brighter worlds and lead the way." And shall you linger 
whilst your own children are pressing in ? O, come into 
the ark ! For your own sake, come in, for verily the 
responsibility of a parent is great, and most fearful must 
be the reckoning in the day of judgment for those heads 
of families who have neglected to train up their children 
in the way in which they should go. I knew an uncon- 
verted daughter once, who, dying in despair, reproached 
her parents upon her bed of death for neglecting her pre- 



THE DELUGE. 



177 



cious soul. " O my father and my mother," said she, 
"you brought me up to nothing." O, how terrible is the 
thought of sons and daughters in the world laying the 
blame of their damnation upon their ungodly parents ! 
O, venerated father, listen to me. O thou, who art the 
head of your family, and king of your household — I 
repeat it — thou upon whose arm leans an affectionate 
wife, and around whom cluster sons and daughters, who 
respect and love you, come into the ark ; — come, even if 
not for your own sake, yet for the sake of those who are 
bone of your bone, and flesh of your flesh. The influ- 
ence of parents upon their children, whether they desire 
it or not, is very great. If parents are prayerless and 
worldly-minded, children are likely to be prayerless and 
worldly-minded too; and if they neglect the Bible and 
the ordinances of God's fiouse, their children are likely to 
do the same. 

I recollect the case of a young man whose father was 
an unconverted man, when I urged him to attend to the 
great concern. " Sir," said he, " it is not worth while to 
speak to me on that subject; my father is not a Christian, 
and I don't care about being a better man than my 
father." Ah me! — those children whose^ parents are not 
pious are truty to be pitied, for their prospects for heaven 
are dark indeed. Some years since, the assertion having 
been made that the children of the pious were no better 
than others, an investigation was made ; and the 
families within a certain district having been divided into 
three classes — those in which both parents were pro- 
fessedly pious, those in which only one parent was a pro- 



178 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



fessor, and those in which neither parent made any pre- 
tensions to religion — it was ascertained that of the chil- 
dren over ten years of age, in the first class, two-thirds 
were hopefully pious; in the second class, about one-third; 
and in the third class, not more than one-twelfth. In 
comparing the first and third classes, it was found that, of 
one hundred and twenty-five children of the first class, 
where both parents professed religion, eighty-four were 
members of some church; whilst, of one hundred and 
ninety-nine children of the third class, in which neither 
parent professed religion, only fourteen were connected 
with any church. This speaks volumes, and makes a 
most powerful appeal *to parents on the score of their 
responsibility. O, if the venerated father who has all 
along neglected the great salvation, should now, at last, 
make a move toward the cross of Christ — should come 
out, and take his stand openly upon the Lord's side, 
what a powerful, what a thrilling effect it would have 
upon all the members of the family! The beloved parent 
setting out for heaven, the children are not willing to be 
left behind. O, then, thou respected and most responsi- 
ble head of the family, come into the ark! Yes, come, 
and come not alone; bring your wife along with you- 
What! are you^Willing to be separated from your bosom 
companion, and separated forever? Surely you can- 
not bear the thought — then persuade her to come 
along with you. And will you not bring your sons also 
with you ? are they not all dear to your heart ? and 
which will you consent to leave out ? the eldest or the 
youngest? shall it be Reuben, the beginning of your 



THE DELUGE. 



179 



strength, or Benjamin, the -son of your old age ? And 
your daughters, too, will you not prevail upon them also 
to come in ? they love you much ; cast your eye over 
their sweet faces, and say which one are you willing to 
see go down into the pit. Is it the one that is married, 
or the one that is at home ? is it Margaret, or is it Lou- 
isa? is it Mary, or your dear little Susan? O, leave none 
out — bring them ail into the ark ! Noah led all his 
household into the ark. Why should you not do the 
same ? O, how happy to have a family united on earth, 
and unbroken in heaven! I recollect seeing once the 
picture of a resurrection scene. The graves were opening 
— the dead arising; there was one lovely group — a family 
— -a whole family ! father, mother, sons and daughters, all 
radiant and happy, ascending to the skies together. 
Once more then, I say to thee, venerated parent, as the 
Lord said unto Noah, " Come thou, and all thy house, 
into the ark." Come, this day. O, should you now 
make a move, how would it rouse those around you, and 
especially your own sons and daughters. Young man, 
young maiden, am I wrong ? Should that dear and ven- 
erated father of yours come out, and confess Christ before 
the world, would you be indifferent to your own soul's 
salvation? Here, then, beloved parent, is a powerful 
appeal to the best feelings of your nature ; here is a strong 
motive, a double motive, nay, a motive multiplied accord- 
ing to the number of your children. O come then ; 
" come thou, and all thy house, into the ark." 

But perhaps the parents are already in the ark, and 
the children are not, or at least some of them, O, ye 



\ 



1 80 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

children of pious parents — ye children of the covenant — ■ 
you upon whom baptismal water has been poured — your 
parents are in the ark; why linger you without? Your 
parents are going to heaven — why should you not go 
along with them ? Are you willing to be separated in 
the great day? How can you bear the thought of seeing 
them on the right hand of the Judge, whilst you are placed 
on the left ? Of seeing them rising and shining with 
angels in glory, whilst you are sinking down deeper 
and deeper in the dark realms of wo ! O, it seems to me 
that if the children of the pious go down to hell, they will 
have no common damnation. Their peculiar advantages, 
and then that terrible separation, will add much to their 
pangs, and the fearfulness of their doom. Only think! 
suppose one of Noah's sons, when invited by his father, 
had refused to go with him into the ark — what would 
have been his feelings when the deluge came? Whilst 
filled with alarm, and crying out in terror, amid the dash- 
ing of the billows and the roaring of the storm, would he 
not have looked toward the ark in special agony, and ex- 
claimed: "Yonder is the ark, safe upon the bosom of the 
troubled deep ! My father is there, my mother is there, 
my brothers are there — all, all in safety there — and I am 
lost! I too was invited, yea, urged to enter in with them; 
why did I not? O my folly! my madness! I have 
brought this evil upon myself! Why did I not enter in ? 
Why did I not enter in ? It is too late now ! O, it is 
too late now !" 

My dear young friends — ye children of the covenant 
, — ye who are so tenderly beloved, for whom so many 



WAR IN HEAVEN. 



prayers have been offered, and over whom so many tears 
have been shed, O, be persuaded to come into the ark ! 
In the great and dreadful day of judgment you will need 
a Saviour; O, embrace him now! Cast in your lot with 
your pious friends, and with them be safe and happy now 
and for evermore. 

May the God of heaven touch your heart, and incline 
you to do that which you will wish you had done in that 
day which shall disclose "a God in grandeur and a world 
on fire." 



SERMON VIII. 

WAR IN HEAVEN. 

A.nd there was war in heaven : Michael and his angels fought against the 
dragon ; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not ; neither was 
their place found any more in heaven. — Rev. xii. 7, 8. 

The visions of John in the Isle of Patmos are, in general, 
mysterious and sublime. But, although their mystical 
and prophetic import may not be fully understood, they 
may, nevertheless, suggest many useful and awakening 
thoughts. The passage at present under consideration is 
not entirely free from difficulty ; and commentators have 
different views of the subject. Some suppose that by the 
dragon, we are to understand the Pagan Roman Empire ; 
by Michael, the Christian Roman Empire; by Heaven, 
the throne of the Roman Emperors ; and by the war in 
heaven is meant the different and opposite counsels of 



182 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



Pagan and Christian Roman Emperors. Without at- 
tempting to settle the mystical or prophetic import of 
the passage, I wish, at this time, to consider it as pointing 
to an event which literally took place in heaven ; an 
event most memorable indeed ; which has awakened the 
attention of the universe, changed the face of creation, 
and has been productive of most direful consequences to 
angels and to men : I mean the fall of rebel angels in 
heaven. 

My brethren, God is the Creator and Sovereign of the 
universe. Millions of worlds roll around his throne, and 
no doubt all are inhabited by intelligent creatures. Of 
these intelligent beings, only two orders are known to us 
— angels and men; both, originally pure and upright, were, 
according to the Scriptures, placed in a state of probation, 
and made free to stand, yet liable to fall. The angels were 
first created. They were a superior order, and were to 
stand or fall, each for himself. Man, to stand or fall in his 
federal head. Some of the angels, called elect, kept their 
first estate, and were confirmed in a state of purity and 
happiness ; others, according to the Scriptures, kept not 
their first estate. They sinned and fell. What their sin 
was we know not, for the Bible has not revealed it. It is 
no matter. Suffice it for us to know that they sinned. That 
moment the golden chain of love which bound them to 
the throne of God was broken forever! They assumed 
the character of sinners ; of rebels against the Divine 
Majesty. What daring acts of opposition they attempted, 
we know not ; but there is reason to believe, that as they 
presumed to,j£bel against their Maker, so they also 



WAR IN HEAVEN. 



183 



presumed, openly and positively, to resist his high au- 
thority. And, doubtless, God made use of some instru- 
ments in punishing them. This would be in perfect har- 
mony with his general dealings in punishing sin; for 
when he would root out the Canaanites for their im- 
pieties, he sent against them Joshua and the tribes of 
Israel ; and when he would punish the Jews for their 
rejection of the Messiah, he raised up against them Titus 
and the Roman army. Angels, too, we find, have been 
employed in services of a similar kind. It was an angel, 
you recollect, that in one gloomy, disastrous night, slew 
all the first-born in the land of Egypt. And was it not 
an angel, also, who entered the camp of Sennacherib, and 
in one night laid low in death one hundred and eighty- 
five thousand men before the walls of Jerusalem? Why 
then may we not suppose, that when the apostate spirits- 
were driven from heaven, it was done by holy angels, led 
on by Michael the archangel ? So that, literally, 
" There was war in heaven ; Michael and his angels 
fought against the dragon ; and the dragon fought, and 
his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place 
found any more in heaven." My brethren, think me not 
fanciful I have not selected this text as the groundwork 
of any vain speculations. I have no wish to amuse you 
with any conceits or imaginations of my own. The sub- 
ject, I trust, you will find to be one of deep and solemn 
interest, and of great practical importance. I confess I 
bfae subject, because it serves to present vividly, and 
in a new aspect, some great truths which are too little 
thought upon. We wish now — 



184 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

I. To consider the character of the war of rebel angels 
in heaven; and 

II. To compare and contrast it with the war of rebel 
men on earth. 

I. The character of the war of rebel angels in heaven. 
It has several features, as we may gather from various 
parts of the sacred Scriptures. 

First. It was wilful ; I mean they brought it upon 
themselves. Certainly they came from the hands of their 
Creator pure and happy, and if originally placed in a 
state of probation, as the Bible clearly gives us to under- 
stand, then of course they must have been free agents. 

" Not free, what proof could they have given sincere 
Of true allegiance, constant faith and love, 
When what they needs must do, appeared 
Not what they would. What praise could they receive, 
What pleasure, God, from such obedience paid ? 
When will and reason, of freedom both despoiled, 
Made passive both, had served Necessity, 
Not God. They therefore as to right belonged, 
So were created." 

We dare not say that, subsequently, God exerted any 
positive influence upon their will, inclining them to sin. 
This would be an impeachment of the goodness of God, 
as though he took pleasure in the misery of his creatures. 
It would impugn his wisdom, as though he knew not, at 
first, how properly to create these angels ; nay, more, it 
would arraign his justice, for had he done it, he would 
have destroyed their free agency — he would have changed 
their original constitution ; and, in fact, would have been 



WAR IN HEAVEN. 1 85 

the author of their sin ? No, no S they were made, 
strictly speaking, free agents, and so they continued until 
their fall. But mark! if free agents, of course, whilst free 
to stand, yet liable to fall. They fell ! God was not the 
author of their fall. No, but as one well expresses it — 
they fell " self-tempted, self-depraved." 

" They themselves decreed 
Their own revolt : not God. If he foreknew, 
Foreknowledge had no influence on their fault, 
Which had proved no less certain, unforeknown ; 
So, without least impulse or shadow of fate, 
Or aught by him, immutably foreseen, 
They trespassed." 

This view of the matter falls in precisely with the lan- 
guage of the Bible ; for it tells us that the angels sinned, 
that they kept not their first estate, but left their habita- 
tions ; all of which phrases evidently imply a voluntary, 
wilful act of their own. But this wilful apostasy on the 
part of rebel angels was the procuring cause of their ex- 
pulsion, or the war in heaven ; therefore, on the part of 
these once exalted, now fallen spirits, it was a wilful war. 

Secondly. It was an irreconcilable war — and that, 
both on the part of God, and with regard to rebel angels 
also. 

I. It is irreconcilable on the part of God. Let us 
for a moment look at the state of the case. God is the 
alone Monarch of all worlds. The whole creation is his 
empire, and all intelligent creatures the rightful subjects 
of his moral government. Now, it is a matter of the last 
importance that the honors of the divine government be 



186 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



maintained, and that no attribute of God, and no law 
which he has framed for the well-being of his crea- 
tures, should be trampled upon ; and if trampled upon, 
not only does the justice and the honor of God, but the 
tranquillity and well-being of all worlds, require that this 
act, so sinful and dangerous, should not be permitted to 
pass with impunity. Now, when angels sinned, they in- 
sulted the Divine Majesty; violated the laws framed for 
the well-being of creation, and therefore endangered 
the happiness of all worlds. This act must not be 
permitted to pass unpunished. Ah! my brethren, if 
we could only understand the full malignity of sin — if 
we could only understand the great dishonor it brings 
upon God, and the direful consequences it would pro- 
duce throughout all worlds if permitted to pass with is* 
punity, we would immediately perceive that, withoi^ 
some effectual plan devised to satisfy the law and justice 
of God, God could never be reconciled to sinning angels. 
According to the Scriptures, no plan has ever been de- 
vised, nor ever will be; hence, the fire prepared for the 
devil and his angels is an everlasting fire. Moreover, 

2. This war is irreconcilable on the part of rebel angels 
also, for when they sinned, that moment their natures 
were changed. Their moral powers were broken, and 
their very spirits poisoned. Love, once triumphant, was 
succeeded by hatred, deadly and eternal hatred. The 
passions of the soul, and the affections of the heart, 
which once s j sweetly harmonized, were thrown into disor- 
der and became as jarring elements, or as the troubled 
sea that cannot rest. According to sacred Scriptures, 



WAR IN HEAVEN. 



18.7 



fallen angels have no tender feelings — no relenting 
thoughts. All is malignant rancour, and therefore, 

" Never can true reconcilement grow 
Where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep; 
Which would but lead them to a relapse, 
And heavier fall." 

To this hour Satan, or, as he is here termed, the dra- 
gon, and his angels, are as much opposed to their Maker 
as they ever were. And what though we cannot see 
them " hurling defiance to the vault of heaven," nor hear 
them blaspheming the God of heaven, because of their 
pains, yet the proof thereof is seen in the faded beauties 
of this once fair creation, and heard in the groans of the 
sick and the dying. Satan, vanquished on the plains of 
heaven, has, so to speak, shifted the scene of warfare. 
Raging with malice, he has come down to earth, here to 
continue his impious struggle against the Most High. 
Long has he been striving to blast the works of God, and, 
alas! how has he succeeded in robbing man of his prime- 
val innocence, and in converting a blooming Eden into a 
vale of tears and field of blood ! Ever since the fall of 
man, as we learn from the sacred volume, this enemy of 
God and man has been going about, as a roaring lion, 
seeking whom he may devour. Rapid as lightning, and 
insatiable as death, he stops at nothing. Lowering 
clouds of wrath alarm him not. Quenchless fires of 
vengeance impede him not. It is his purpose, if he 
can, to defeat the counsels of his Maker, and send the 
ploughshare of ruin over all the works of God. Having 
succeeded in tempting oft? first parents, he presumed! to 



1 88 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



tempt the Messiah himself, God's Eternal Son ! Signally- 
defeated by him, he still continues to stir up war against 
the remnant of his seed. This is no fiction. You recol- 
lect the language of our Saviour — " Simon, Simon, Satan 
hath desired to have thee, that he might sift thee, as 
wheat:" and the apostle John, in reference to the period 
immediately preceding the millennium, says: — "And I 
heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salva- 
tion, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the 
power of his Christ : for the accuser of our brethren is 
cast down, which accused them before our God day and 
night." And again this voice is uttered in heaven: "Wo 
to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea ! for the 
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because 
he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Rev. xii. 10, 
12. Hence it appears that Satan and his angels continue 
their opposition to their Maker, and will continue it until 
the winding up of all human events ; when, as we are 
expressly told, he shall be cast into the bottomless pit, 
where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be 
tormented day and night forever. The war, then, is 
absolutely irreconcilable. 

3. It is an unreasonable war — on the part of rebel an- 
gels a most unreasonable war. It must be, for God, as 
an infinitely wise and good Being, could have given no 
just cause or occasion* The Bible tells us that God is 
love. This is indeed his memorial from all generations, 
even from all eternity ; and even fallen angels cannot deny 
it — and why? God was such to them until they sinned. 
Yes, he brought them from the womb of non-existence. 



WAR IN HEAVEN. 



He crowned them with glory and honor ; placed them 
near his throne, and made them as happy as their natures 
would admit of ; and yet, they kept not their first habita- 
tion — they rebelled ! 

"Ah, wherefore? He deserved no such return 
From them, whom he created what they were, 
In that bright eminence ; and with his good 
Upbraided none ! Nor was his service hard ; 
What could be less, than pay Him thanks? 
How due !" 

Why, then, did they rebel ? Was there anything in 
the character of God which they could impeach ? Cer- 
tainly not, for it was absolutely perfect. Was there any- 
thing in his government which they could condemn? By 
no means; for it is founded on the principles of infinite 
wisdom and eternal rectitude. Well, was there anything 
in their own circumstances which could reasonably create 
discontent ? O no, for they were in heaven, and their 
cup of bliss was overflowing. Why then did they rebel ? 
Although we know what tempted them, yet, in the very 
nature of the case, it is evident that the war which they 
waged against their Maker was without cause, and there- 
fore unreasonable. It was a war of ingratitude, of folly f 
of madness; — was a war against duty, against interest, 
against happiness itself: a war, in short, for which not 
only the justice of God must forever condemn them, but 
the voice of reason, and the voice of the whole intelligent 
creation. Certainly, then, it was an unreasonable war. 

Lastly : It was to rebel angels a most fatal and disas- 
trous war. They gained nothing, but lost much. I. They 



190 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



lost the favor of God, even that favor which is life, and that 
loving-kindness which is better than life. This they once 
enjoyed in plenitude and perfection ; but now it is lost 
forever! Never more shall they be permitted to come 
into the peaceful presence of their Maker ! Never more 
share in the light of his countenance, or any tokens of 
his love! Nay more; having forfeited his favor, they 
must endure his withering frowns forever! 2. They lost 
their own moral loveliness. Once, in the image of God, 
they were pure and lovely indeed! Every celestial virtue, 
every heavenly grace was upon them. They were fairer 
than the roses of Paradise, lovelier than the stars of the 
morning. But, alas ! when they sinned, all was changed. 
No longer innocent, they became hateful ; no longer the 
sons of God, they became demons of the pit. 3. They 
lost, moreover, their seats in heaven ! O those sweet, 
those happy fields, where joy forever reigns ! To rebel 
angels they are lost forever ! Their seats are vacant 
now; their harps are thrown away, and "their place shall 
be found no more in heaven !" No more shall they 
mingle with the blessed ; nor sweep their melodious 
strings; nor chant their heavenly songs. No more shall 
they climb the heights of bliss; nor range the fields of 
glory; nor dwell in the sweet vales of heaven! For their 
horrid guilt, they are in everlasting exile from- that happy 
world ! cast down to hell — and what kind of a place is 
that? a pit that has no bottom — a lake burning with fire 
and brimstone — 

"A dungeon, horrible on all sides round, 
As one great furnace flames ! yet from those flames 



WAR «I» -HEAVEN. I Q I 

No light ! but rather darkness visible ! 
Which serves only to discover sights of wo, 
Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace 
And rest can never dwell, hope never cornel" 

My brethren, believe me, or rather believe the sacred 
volume, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
living God. The rebel angels, in sinning against God, 
gained nothing, but lost much! And so must it be with 
all who dare rebel against their Maker, and who with the 
Great Eternal provoke unequal war. But this leads us 

II. To compare and contrast the war of rebel angels 
in heaven with the war of rebel men on earth ; and, for 
this purpose chiefly, have I selected the passage of 
Scripture now before us. The dragon and his angels 
gained no victories in heaven; but, shall I say it? 
they have succeeded in gaining allies on earth ! Yes, 
the human race, seduced from their allegiance by the 
great tempter, have made common cause with fallen 
angels, and are now in arms against the everlasting God! 
Yes, awful and melancholy as the thought is, it is even 
so! Satan has succeeded in pouring much of his venom 
into the human heart; and multitudes of the human 
family are now ranged with him under the banner of 
revolt! Not all! No! blessed be God, some, sweetly 
subdued by heavenly grace, have laid down the weapons 
of their rebellion. Through the interposition of the great 
Redeemer, and the powerful energies of the Divine Spirit, 
they have made their peace with God ; and now, ranged 
under his banner, they are the willing subjects of his 
moral government. Bnt the multitude, the great mass 



192 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



of the human family, sorry am I to say, this moment, 
leagued with the dragon and his angels, are fighting 
against the God who made them. Do you demand proof? 
Look around you, and see how many are enemies to God 
by wicked works — how many profane his Sabbaths! how 
many blaspheme his holy name! how many slight his 
word! how many reject the Son of his love! how many 
indulge in riot and debauchery, how many in theft and 
murder! Ah ! my brethren, the fact is but too evident — 
the world lies in wickedness. It is now, and ever since 
the fall has been, a rebellious province of Jehovah's 
dominions. I have nourished and brought up children, 
says God, and they have rebelled against me. And does 
not the apostle Paul affirm that the carnal mind is enmity 
against God ? and does he not address the unrenewed as 
those arrayed against their Maker. Notice his language: 
" Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 
God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's 
stead, be ye reconciled to God." The case is clear — all 
unregenerate sinners— (and do they not constitute the 
mass of the human family ?) — are in a state of open oppo- 
sition and downright rebellion against their Maker! O 
it is an impious contest, a most unholy war! But we 
promised to compare and contrast the war of rebel men 
on earth, with that of rebel angels in heaven. In many 
things the resemblance is most exact and striking; in 
only one thing is there a difference. 

First. Was the war of rebel angels a wilful war? So 
also is the war of rebel men. It is true the original dis- 
pensations to angels and to men were not the same. The 



WAR IN HEAVEN. 



*93 



former stood or fell, each for himself: the latter in their 
federal head, Adam, the head and representative of his 
ract, broke covenant with God — wilfully sinned, and 
thus, so to speak, in his own name and that of all his 
posterity, declared war against his Maker, as a sovereign 
acting in behalf of the people whom he represents. " By 
one man's disobedience," says the apostle, "were many 
made sinners" — that is, the act of Adam, in breaking 
covenant with God, was reckoned as the act of his pos- 
terity; in proof of this position, we find the consequences 
of the fall extending to the whole human family. But 
there is another view of the matter. All mankind, it is 
true, by virtue of their connection with Adam, as their 
federal head, are, equally with him, involved in the ruins 
of the fall ; but infinite wisdom and love have planned 
and executed a scheme by which the ruins of the fall 
may be restored, and man may again be brought into 
favor with his Maker. Our blessed Saviour having, by 
his death and sufferings, made the great atonement, the 
gospel of peace and reconciliation is preached, and all 
who will are invited to come through the Mediator, and 
obtain peace with their offended Maker, and even ever- 
lasting life, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, those 
who refuse and reject the overtures of mercy, do evidently 
continue in wilful rebellion, and in this way do, deliber- 
ately, to all intents and purposes, sanction the act of their 
federal head, and make it their own ; and that they 
are wilful in this matter, is evident from many passages 
of Scripture, especially from the language of our Saviour, 
"Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life." 



i 9 4 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



Ah ! my brethren, it is even so. God calls, but sinners 
will not hear. He stretches out his hand, but sinners will 
not regard. He offers them mercy on gospel terms, and 
repeatedly offers it, but they wilfully reject it; and, by 
their conduct, daringly say, with Pharoah, " Who is the 
Lord, that we should obey him ? we know not the Lord, 
neither will we obey his voice." And what is this but 
wilful rebellion ? Besides, oftentimes the Spirit of God 
moves upon the heart of the sinner, but the sinner braces 
himself up against these divine influences; and the charge 
brought by Stephen against certain Jews in his day, may 
with but too .much propriety be brought against many of 
the unconverted at the present time: " Ye uncircumcised in 
heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as 
your fathers did, so do ye." In other words, in resisting 
the strivings of the Divine Spirit, and wilfully stifling their 
convictions, they fight against God, and there is a wilful- 
ness in this matter which adds greatly to their sin. 

Secondly. Was the war of rebel angels an irreconcila- 
ble war? Thank God, here we can drop the comparison, 
and take up the contrast. Yes, on this theatre of war, in 
the midst of heaven-daring rebels, our blessed Redeemer 
has, by the shedding of his most precious blood, made 
the great atonement. Elevated upon the cross, this glori- 
ous God-man Mediator has, so to speak, laid one hand 
upon divinity and the other upon humanity, and in this 
way, has accomplished a blessed work of love and recon- 
ciliation — has thus opened up a way, whereby God can be 
just, and yet justify the penitent and believing sinner — • 
the sinner who accepts of Christ as his. surety and Qnly 



WAR IN HEAVEN. 



195 



hope ; as it is written, " Being justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." And 
again, " There is therefore now no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk, not after the flesh, 
but after the Spirit." Ah j my brethren, had the blessed 
Jesus not interposed, the hope of heavenly grace had 
never cheered the heart of man! This is the Good Shep- 
herd, who, when he saw a hundred worlds rolling around 
his Fathers throne, and this was lost, left the ninety-and- 
nine in the wilderness of space, and came to seek and to 
save this lost world! 

«' O love divine I Harp, lift thy voice on high ! 
Shout angels ! Shout aloud, ye sons of men, 
And burn, my heart, with the eternal flame." 

Millions of the human family have already been recon- 
ciled to God by the death of his Son, and have been made 
forever happy by redeeming love; and millions more, 
drawn from the standard of revolt, and ranged under the 
banner of the great Redeemer, shall yet enter the dwell- 
ings of the blest, and take rank amongst the angels of 
God, in glory everlasting. O how thankful should we be, 
that whilst the war of rebel angels is irreconcilable, the 
war of rebel men may be brought to a speedy and 
happy termination. This is a blessed truth, and I 
love to present it ; but let it not be forgotten, that 
the period of possible reconciliation is a limited period. 
In this world sinners may make their peace with God — 
but in this world only. When death's leaden sceptre is 
laid upon the cold bosom, the state of the sinner is fixed 



196 



REVIVAL SERMONS* 



forever ! Ever after there is no redemption, tnere is no 
hope ! 

* There are no acts of pardon passed, 
In the cold grave to which we haste j 
But darkness, death, and long despair, 
Reign in eternal silence there ! 

O how important is it, then, that every one of us dili- 
gently improve our day of grace on earth ; and, with all 
our heart, seek salvation while " pardon may be sought 
and mercy may be found." But, 

Thirdly. Was the war of rebel angels an unreasonable 
war ? And what shall we say of the war of rebel men ? 
O, my brethren, how shall we vindicate foolish, infatuated 
man? Angels sinned against creating goodness — man 
against redeeming love. Angels warred under black de- 
spair — man under hope of heavenly grace. The sword 
of justice pursued revolting angels — the wings of mercy 
were outstretched to shelter revolting man. And yet 
man rebels. Infatuated man ! what would he have ? — 
Riches ? In rejecting the grace of God he rejects the 
true riches. Honor? There is no honor like that which 
cometh down from God only. Safety ? Everlasting arms 
are round about them who put their trust in Israel's God. 
Happiness ? And where can happiness be found but in 
Him who is the only true source and fountain of all en- 
joyment? And yet the sinner rebels! O how unreason- 
able ! In rebelling against God, the sinner loses much, 
everything that should be dear and precious to the soul. 
And what does he gain? Nothing! literally nothing! 



WAR IN HEAVEN, 



*97 



except it be an upbraiding conscience, an aching heart, 
and a burning hell ! O, how does the sinner sin against 
his i i judgment, his own interest, and his own happi- 
ness I and moreover, against all motives and considera- 
tions which should affect him. He knows that the way 
of transgressors is hard, and yet he sins onl He knows 
that his sins will find him out, and yet he sins on ! He 
knows that the arm of God is powerful, and cannot be 
resisted, and ye he sins on I He knows that there is for- 
giveness for the penitent, and yet he sins on I And 
that certain damnation awaits the impenitent, and yet he 
sins on! Infatuated man! In the view of all the 
glories of the heavenly world, in view of all the horrors 
of the world of wo, and, moreover, in view of ail the love 
of God, and all the agonies of a dying Saviour-— in short, 
in view of everything calculated to subdue and melt the 
heart, he sins on S Be astonished, O heavens 1 and O 
earth! earth! earth! hear the complaint of the Eternal 
God—" I have nourished and brought up children, and 
they have rebelled against me.*' But, 

Fourthly. Was the war of rebel angels fatal and 
disastrous ? So, also, most assuredly, will be the con- 
tinued war of rebel men. Millions have already fallen 
in the impious contest, and shall rise no more. My 
friends, God is a God of power, His throne is in the 
heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. There are 
none that can measure swords with him, nor snatch the 
sceptre from his hand, nor resist the power of his arm ! 
He need only speak, and worlds on worlds would roll 
from his creative hand I He need only will it, and all 



I98 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

would again sink in fiery ruins ! It is true, according 
to the Psalmist, "The kings of the earth set themselves, 
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, 
and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their 
bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." 
Shall they succeed ? Shall they prevail ? What says 
the Psalmist again? "He that sitteth in the heavens 
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. 
He shall break them with a rod of iron; he shall dash 
them in pieces, like a potter's vessel." O, when God 
shall arise to judge the earth, what a day will that be ! 
Great day of God Almighty and the Lamb ! O, how 
will sinners then quail I how will every rebel's face 
gather blackness ! For God will come to reckon with 
sinners then, and terrible will be the manner of his 
coming. Lightnings shall flash from his piercing eyes 
— thunders shall roll around his awful throne 1 Yea, he 
shall come with his chariots, like a whirlwind, to render 
his anger with fury, and his rebukes with flames of 
fire; and most fearful, indeed, will be the condition of 
those who shall then, as sinners, fall into the hands "of 
the living God. They will call upon the rocks and the 
mountains to fall upon them ! They will shriek in 
agony ! They will wish they had never been born, or 
had slumbered forever in the silent grave. O, my fellow 
sinner, think upon this matter now, before it be forever 
too late ! You are now contending against your Maker; 
you have taken sides with the dragon and his angels ; 
you are this moment ranged under the black banner of 
Apollyon ; and, if the war of rebel angels was to rebel 



WAR IN HEAVEN. 



199 



angels fatal and disastrous, so also, must be the impious 
struggle in which you are engaged, if continued in. 
" For," says the Scripture, " who ever hardened himself 
against him and prospered? Yea, when God enters 
into judgment, he will overcome; yea, verily, the tri- 
umphs of Jehovah must ever be glorious to himself, but 
terrible to the workers of iniquity." 

My brethren, our text this morning is an interesting 
one ; and, viewed in the application which we have made 
of it, it is to us of deep personal interest and importance. 
"There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels 
fought against the dragon ; and the dragon fought, and 
his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place 
found any more in heaven." Remember, the scene is 
changed, but the war is not ended yet. Yes, here! here 
on this globe of ours, the warfare is going on still ! for, 
according to the Scriptures, Satan, fallen from heaven, 
has come down to earth! Here he has planted his 
standard, and, alas ! man has madly taken sides with 
this fallen spirit. This is the great battle-field of the 
universe. Many eyes are looking on, and here must the 
battle be fought, and here brought to a final close. Is 
the result doubtful? No! assuredly. For, can an atom 
contend against a mountain? or can the chaff resist the 
sweeping whirlwind ? No more can the sinner contend 
against his Maker. War in any form, and against any 
power, is a terrible thing; and according to the might 
of the enemy is the terror of the conflict. Valor reigned 
in the bosom of Leonidas and his Spartan band; yet, 
methinks, brave and heroic as they were, they must have 



200 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



quailed before the mighty power of a Xerxes. Valor 
reigned in the bosom of our Washington and his associ- 
ate heroes, and yet, no doubt, even they felt awful in 
the prospect of meeting the power of England upon the 
tented field. But what is the power of a Xerxes, or the 
power of England, in comparison with the power of the 
great God, who can "dash whole worlds to death, and 
make them when he pleases?" Those who array them- 
selves against an earthly power, however formidable 
that power may appear, may nevertheless succeed; but 
there is no succeeding against Omnipotence. God must 
be victorious, and all his enemies must and will be sub- 
dued! But even suppose the patriot soldier knows that 
he must fall before his enemy, and perish on the field of 
battle ; yet, if his cause is a good one, this animates 
him, and he can say, 'Dulce et decorum est, pro patria 
moriy It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country J 
How sleep the brave ! How delightful to have our 
memory embalmed in the hearts of our grateful country- 
men ! But there is no such consolation for the sinner, 
who, ranged under the black banner of Apoliyon, is 
engaged in a cause which his own reason now con- 
demns; and perishing, he will have nothing to console 
him in a dying hour, nor through all the ages of a 
gloomy and unblest eternity. O, sinner! sinner! you 
are fighting against your own interest, your own happi- 
ness! You have taken sides with the dragon and his 
angels, you are fighting with fiends, against your own 
soul, and against the God who made you! O, be en- 
treated ! This day lay down the weapons of your rebel- 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



20I 



lion, this day change sides, make your peace with your 
Maker ; and when your life on earth is ended, you shall 
have a place in heaven, and there be happy forever. 



SERMON IX. 

ON SEEKING THE LORD. 

Seek ye the I*ord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he Is near.— 
Isaiah lv. 6. 

My brethren, if a man wants wealth, he seeks it; if he 
desires fame, he seeks it; if he has set his heart upon the 
attainment of any temporal object which he deems impor- 
tant, he makes a diligent use of the proper means for the 
attainment of that object. This principle is correct, and 
upon it is based the words of our text* — '"Seek ye the 
Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he 
is near.'* David said, " When thou saidst, Seek ye my 
face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek." 
Hezekiah was commended because he sought the Lord 
with all his heart; and Josiah, because he sought the 
Lord whilst he was young. The direction in our text is 
a standing one: — Seek ye the Lord while he may be 
found, call ye upon him while he is near." Some persons 
are ready to say, " You ministers of the gospel are fre- 
quently urging us to attend to the great concern, and 
warning us of the danger of dying in our sins, but why 
do you not pour a little light upon the subject ? Why 



202 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



do you not tell us plainly what we are to do ?" Well, 
now, if I tell you what is to be done, will you attend to 
it? If I mark out the way to heaven, will you walk in 
it? Then listen! If you would be saved, you must seek 
the Lord, and if you would do this successfully, there are 
three things which must be done: You must take Jesus 
Christ for your way ; the Divine Spirit for your helper; 
and the sacred volume for your guide. To be sure, I 
might say to the serious inquirer, as Paul did to the 
Philippian jailer, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved ;" or as Peter did to certain Jerusalem 
sinners, when awakened, " Repent ye, therefore, and be 
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the 
times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the 
Lord." But you wish me to be more extended in my 
remarks, then let me call your attention to the three 
things stated. 

I. You are to take Jesus Christ as your way; and for 
this we have his own authority, as he expressly says, " I 
am the way, the truth, and the life," (or, as it may be 
rendered, "the true and living way,") "and no man 
cometh unto the Father but by me." In the economy 
of redemption Jesus Christ is "all and in all." He is our 
only advocate and Mediator. In him, God is reconciling 
the world unto himself, not imputing to them their iniqui- 
ties ; but out of Christ, God is a. consuming fire. Those 
who are accepted, are accepted in the Beloved, and those 
who are not accepted in the Beloved, are not accepted at 
all ; as it is written, " Other foundation can no man lay 
than is laid, which is Jesus Christ." This is all very plain, 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



203 



and this in substance is taught by every true minister of 
Christ, on every Sabbath day, and yet many persons, 
when awakened, and when stirred up to seek the salva- 
tion of their souls, make an error at the very outset. 
They go to God the Father without having any reference 
to Christ, as the appointed Mediator. Now, this will not 
answer, for the Saviour says expressly, in language 
already recited, " I am the way, the truth, and the life, 
and no man cometh unto the Father but by me." There 
was corn in Egypt when the famine prevailed, and when 
those who needed corn came unto Pharaoh, he said unto 
them, Go to Joseph, I have made him Lord over ail 
Egypt, therefore go to Joseph. Should they neglect 
this direction, and come to Pharaoh the second time, 
methinks he would say, Did I not tell you to go to 
Joseph ? he is appointed over this matter. Go to Joseph ! 
Should they come to Pharaoh the third time, without 
regarding his direction, methinks he would say, Leave 
my kingdom instantly ! — no man who will not submit to 
the law of the realm shall receive supplies. Leave my 
kingdom without delay ! Even so in this matter. Christ 
is Lord of all, and without him there is no salvation, and 
there is no hope. But again; some persons setting out 
to seek the salvation of their souls make another blunder. 
Instead of coming to Christ in the exercise of love, and 
an appropriating faith, they go to their duties. They 
think that they are not good enough to come to Christ 
yet, and therefore they purpose to make themselves a 
little better first; just like those of whom Paul speaks, 
who, " being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going 



204 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



about to establish their own righteousness, have not sub- 
mitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." Rom. 
x. 3. And why this? Because this great doctrine is for- 
gotten, or not properly understood, that " Christ is the 
end of the law for righteousness to every one that be- 
lieveth ;" and, as the apostle teaches in another place, 
that " a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the 
law." Rom. iii. 28. My brethren, I repeat it, in the 
economy of redemption Christ is all in all. This must 
be clearly understood and acted upon, by all who would 
seek the Lord and find him in the salvation of their souls. 
The language of the poet is both beautiful and correct: 

" Jesus ! lover of my soul, 

Let me to thy bosom fly, 
■ While the raging billows roll, 
While the tempest still is high. 
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide, 
Till the storm of life is past ; 
Safe into the haven guide; 
O, receive my soul at last. 

« Other refuge have I none ! 

Hangs my helpless soul on thee; 
Leave, ah ! leave me not alone, 
Still support and comfort me. 
All my trust on thee is staid, 

All my help from thee I bring; 
Cover my defenceless head 

With the shadow of thy wing." 

II. You must take the Divine Spirit as your helper. 
Even if the sinner were pardoned by virtue of the redemp- 
tion which is in Christ Jesus, there is still an inward work 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



205 



of grace and sanctification to be accomplished, to fit him 
for heaven. And, as the angel of the Lord said unto 
Elijah, " Arise and eat, because the journey is too great 
for thee," so may we say to the awakened sinner, who 
asks what he must do to be saved — Arise and seek divine 
aid, for the work is too great for thee. For example, the 
sinner's heart is to be changed. As it is written, " O, 
Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness that thou 
mayst be saved !" Jer. iv. 14. And again : " Make you 
a new heart, and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O 
house of Israel ?" Ezek. xviii. 31. Now the sinner, of 
himself, can no more accomplish this great work than he 
can roll a mountain, or heave an ocean ! What then ? 
Shall he say, I cannot accomplish the work — it is the 
work of the Spirit: his influences are absolutely necessary 
— I will leave it to the Spirit — and I will do nothing. 
Shall he say this? Certainly not. The showers of heaven 
we all know are absolutely necessary to the production 
of a crop. Planters ! if God should seal up the clouds of 
heaven, and send no rain upon the earth for three years 
and six months, as in the time of the prophet, you 
might fence in your field, and plough up your ground, 
and scatter your seed; but it would be all in vain. What 
then ? Does the planter say, The showers of heaven are 
absolutely necessary to the production of a crop — I will 




do nothing — I will sit still and leave it to the showers of 
heaven to fence in my field, and plough up my ground, 
and scatter the seed. Does he say this? We know that 
he does not. Well, the winds of heaven, also, are neces- 
sary to waft the merchant-ship over the ocean. The ship- 



206 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



master knows it full well; and does he say, I will not 
weigh the anchor— I will not spread the canvass — I will 
not consult the chart — the winds of heaven are absolutely 
necessary to waft my ship over the ocean, I will leave it 
all to the winds of heaven? O no, we never hear any- 
thing of this kind. In temporal matters, sinners usually 
act wisely and discreetly; but in spiritual matters, all 
seem to be perverse and wrong. There need be no diffi- 
culty. As in temporal, so in spiritual matters. There 
must be the meeting of the divine and human agency. 
See the children of Israel at Pihahiroth ; they are hemmed 
in on all sides; mountains on this side, mountains on 
that side ; behind them, Pharaoh with his army pressing 
on ; and before them, the Red Sea ! Now, are they not 
completely hemmed in? They are unarmed, and it is 
clear deliverance can come only from above. But they 
were delivered. How? By the meeting of the human 
and divine agency: — God directs Moses to stretch his 
rod over the Red Sea. Moses, if perverse, might have 
said, Lord God, what is the use of stretching the rod over 
the Red Sea? He was not perverse. The command was 
given: Stretch the rod over the Red Sea. He obeyed — 
he stretched the rod. Here was the putting forth of the 
human agency! Immediately the divine agency came 
down with mighty power upon the waters of the Red 
Sea, and lo! they parted asunder, and the children of 
Israel passed through on dry ground! Now, here was 
the meeting of both the divine and human agency, and 
yet all who looked on knew very well, that the only effi- 
cient agent was God ; hence, the tribes, with one accord, 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



207 



on the other side of the banks of the Red Sea, sang God's 
praises, not the praises of Moses. Take another case. 
The children of Israel, in the wilderness, on a certain 
occasion, were ready to perish with thirst. 

<* They longed for a cooling stream, 
And they must drink or die." 

And now, who can furnish water for such a multitude, in 
this parched, waste, and howling wilderness? Assuredly, 
none but God only. It was furnished — How? and in 
what manner? By the meeting of the human and divine 
agency, as we said before. God directs Moses to reach 
forth his rod and smite the rock. He did so, and lo! the 
water gushed in great abundance from the smitten rock. 
The children of Israel crowded around ; drank of the cool 
flowing stream, slaked their thirst, and praised, not Moses, 
but the God of Israel ; for all saw plainly that, although 
Moses smote the rock, it was God, and God only, who 
caused the water to gush forth. I repeat it, my brethren, 
there need be no difficulty in understanding this matter. 
The work to be accomplished is great, utterly beyond 
the sinner's power ; but he may obtain help from on high. 
As it is written, " Let him take hold of my strength, that 
he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace 
with me." Isaiah xxvii. 5. And again : " Fear not, I am 
with thee, I will help thee, I will strengthen thee, yea, I 
will uphold thee by the right hand of my righteousness." 
I am aware that this last passage has special reference to 
the people of God who are in trouble; but certainly it may 
be quoted tor the encouragement of ail wiio, sensible 



208 REVIVAL SERMONS. 



that they need help from above, are disposed to call upon 
God in sincerity and in truth; for the command given to 
all, is this : " Seek the Lord, and his strength ; seek his 
face evermore." Psalm cv. 4. Some persons, speaking 
on the subject of man's ability and inability, have indulged 
in metaphysical speculations, and have brought a vast 
amount of learned lore to bear upon the subject, and after 
all, have only darkened counsel by words without know- 
ledge ; and I have frequently thought that their account 
of the matter is no better than Doctor Johnson's defini- 
tion of the term net-work : " Anything reticulated or 
decussated with interstices at equal distances between the 
intersections." This is a very learned definition of a very 
simple thing ; but, although learned and rather hard to 
be understood, it is, after all, I believe, not correct ; for, 
to constitute " net-work," it is not necessary that the reti- 
culations should be at equal distances between the inter- 
sections. But to return to the doctrine of man's ability 
and inability, permit me to say, there is one passage of 
Scripture which is worth whole volumes of merely human 
composition. It is this: "Work out your own salvation 
with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in 
you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Philip, 
ii. 12. The idea is this: that we are to attend to our 
soul's salvation as if we could by our own unaided effort 
accomplish the object in view, and at the same time rely 
upon divine aid, as if we literally could do nothing at all. 
God is ever ready to help those who are disposed to 
bestir themselves, and look to him for help. Let the cry 
of the sinner then be the cry of the Cyrophenician woman, 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 20g 

" Lord help me !" or the cry of Peter sinking in the water, 
" Lord, save or I perish !" All this falls in precisely with 
the language of our text: "Seek ye the Lord while he 
may be found; call ye upon him while he is near." Once 
more : 

III. You must take the sacred volume for your guide. 
It will not do to follow our own fancies, nor square our 
conduct by the rules which men may prescribe. No, 
we must, with the simplicity of little children, find out 
the directions which are laid down in the Scriptures of 
truth, and follow them. -Now, in the sacred volume cer- 
tain things are laid down as important, indeed as indis- 
pensable, and these must not be neglected. If you would 
seek the Lord and find him in the salvation of your souls, 

I. You must seek him in the forsaking of all your 
sins. This is a direction which immediately follows the 
words of our text — " Let the wicked forsake his way, 
and the unrighteous man his thoughts: let him return 
unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to 
our God, who will abundantly pardon." Yes, if the sin- 
ner would be saved, he must part with every sin. Though 
dear as a right hand, he must cut it off; though dear as 
a right eye, he must pluck it out. Some persons, when 
awakened, are willing to part with some sins, but not 
others. There is some darling idol ; some beloved lust, 
or what the apostle calls " besetting sin," which they are 
not willing to give up, but they must give i£ up, for 
Christ came not to be the minister of sin, but to cleanse 
us from all unrighteousness. " His name shall be called 
Jesus," said the angel, " for he shall save his people 



2IO 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



from their sins." Mark! shall save his people, not in 
their sins, but from their sins; and this may remind us 
of the words of the Psalmist, uttered so many ages 
since — "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will 
not hear me." Observe — not merely, if he indulges sin 
in his life, but sin in his heart. I repeat it, then, there 
can be no compromise in this matter. Sin must be relin- 
quished, every sin; yea, every sin, whether open or secret ; 
whether fashionable or unfashionable; whether gainful 
or the reverse ; whether it be in the life or only in the 
heart. Some may think this a hard requirement, but it is 
right, and it must stand. Some persons, as we have said, 
are willing to part with many sins, but not with all, and 
this holds them in check. They think that they are in 
peculiar circumstances, and desire some little indulgence 
in certain matters. Concerning this and that favorite sin 
they are ready to say with Lot, in reference to Zoar, " O, 
is it not a little one?" ox with Naaman, in relation to a 
certain matter, "The Lord pardon thy servant in this 
thing." O these favorite, these besetting sins, how hard 
is it to give them up! 

I recollect a certain man — pride was his besetting sin. 
He seemed to be constitutionally proud and haughty. 
He was under serious impressions a long time, and it 
was only when he was laid upon a bed of sickness, and 
brought to the borders of the grave, that his pride was 
subdued. I recollect another who was intemperate. He 
was a tavern-keeper. Powerfully wrought upon, he 
attended an inquiry-meeting. As I approached to the 
seat which he occupied he rose up, and with much 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



21 I 



emotion took me by the hand. (I give you the sub- 
stance of our conversation.) "O, sir," said he, "I feel 
that I am a sinner; what must I do to be saved ?" "Sir," 
replied I, "you must give up your bottle. A little 
nettled, he replied, " I do not choose to make rash 
promises." "Very well," said I, "you may do as you 
please, but I tell you the truth; you must give up your 
bottle or your soul." He mused awhile, and finally 
concluding, it seems, that his bottle was worth more 
than his soul, he gathered up his hat and cane and 
walked out, and I saw him no more. Like Esau, my 
dear brethren, like Esau, who for one morsel of meat 
sold his birthright; and ye know how that afterwards, 
when he would have inherited the blessing, he was 
rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he 
sought it carefully with tears. O these besetting sins, 
they have ruined many ! Another case may be men- 
tioned. A certain individual was brought under very 
pungent conviction. He cried for mercy, but for several 
days received no comfort. He had had a difficulty with 
a certain person some time before, and upon examining 
his heart, he found that he indulged in an unforgiving 
spirit. Certainly it is all plain now. The Saviour says, 
" If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will 
your Father which is in heaven forgive you your tres- 
passes." This man owed his maker ten thousand talents, 
and was crying for forgiveness, and yet he himself would 
not forgive a fellow creature who owed him fifty pence! 
Ah! my brethren, we are taught to pray, "Forgive us 
our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against 



212 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



us." When, therefore, we utter this petition, and do not 
forgive those who have injured us, we do virtually pray 
that God will not forgive us. Remember, God knows 
what is within us as well as what is without us, and the 
Psalmist says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord 
will not hear me." But excuse me, my brethren, and I 
will mention yet another case illustrative of the point 
before us. In a certain town in Virginia there was a 
revival of religion. Amongst the anxious who came to 
the meeting as inquirers on a certain day was a talented 
young lawyer. He appeared to be in very great distress 
©f mind. "O sir," exclaimed he, in agony, "must I be 
everlastingly damned?" "By no means," said I, "my 
dear sir, by no means. It is a faithful saying, and 
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners, even the chief. Believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." He left the 
meeting still unrelieved. What can be the matter ? The 
case was this: — He had just commenced the practice of 
the law. It was, with him, a favorite pursuit, and from 
this quarter he expected wealth and distinction. When 
brought under conviction, he recollected a prediction 
uttered by an aunt of his upon her dying bed, some time 
before, that he would yet be converted, and become a 
preacher of the gospel. Now, thought he, my aunt's 
prediction is coming true; I am going now to be con- 
verted, and then I shall have to give up my profession 
as a lawyer and become a preacher. This he could not 
consent to — would almost rather be damned than become 
a preacher. Now, my brethren, observe, I do not say it 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



213 



is wrong for a young man to be a lawyer,- but it is very 
wrong, very sinful, to be self-willed. This was the 
difficulty with this young man. He wished to have his 
own way; and he did not wish any one, not even the 
ever blessed God, to cross his path ; and it was whilst in 
this frame of mind he exclaimed, "And must I be ever- 
lastingly damned?" A few days afterwards, his will 
being sweetly subdued, he obtained a joyful hope in 

Christ, and being asked, " Mr. B , are you willing to 

be a preacher now, if God shall so direct?" Clasping 
his hands, and looking with eyes streaming with tears, 
he said, "Any thing now ! Blessed God, any thing 
now !" My dear friends, you that are now under awak- 
ening influences, let me entreat you to look into your 
hearts, as well as your lives, and when you are told that 
you must seek the Lord in the forsaking of all of your 
sins, O remember, I pray you, in connection with it, the 
words of the Psalmist, already more than once repeated, 
" If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear 
me. 

2. You must seek him at the right time. " Seek ye 
the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while 
he is near." Those guilty spirits upon whom the light 
of eternity has dawned cannot seek him now, for their 
day of grace is past. By them God cannot now be 
found; to them he is not near, nor ever will be. Their 
glass is run, their sun is set, and their souls are lost 
forever ! The living ! the living ! those who are on 
mercy's side of eternity — they are the ones who may 
seek the Lord ; and they are to do it whilst yet they are 



214 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



in the land of hope, and wh : .. yet permitted to enjoy 
the means of grace, and entertain the hope of glory. 
But, as there is such a thing as seed time and harvest 
time, so there are certain seasons more favorable than 
others for attending to the great concern, and seeking 
the salvation of the soul. For example : The period of 
youth is a golden season; it may emphatically be called 
an accepted time and day of salvation, for as yet the 
heart is not hardened, nor the person hackneyed in the 
ways of sin. Moreover, there are special promises ad- 
dressed to the young : " I love them that love me, and 
they that seek me early shall find me and to them a 
special command is given, " Remember now thy Creator 
in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, 
nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no 
pleasure in them." Hence we find that an overwhelming 
majority of those who are pious are brought in, in the 
morning of life. Indeed, comparatively speaking, there 
are few soundly converted after thirty years of age. If 
any one passes the period of youth, a stranger to regen- 
eration, I consider that his best day is over, and that his 
prospect for heaven is darkening horribly ! O, my dear 
young friends, precious youth, you are the hope of the 
Church! Upon you many eyes are turned, and for you 
many prayers are offered. Remember, this is emphati- 
cally your time, and it may be with you, now or never ! 
A season of revival is also a peculiarly favorable season 
for seeking the salvation of the soul. Besides divine 
influences coming down as copious dews and showers of 
rain upon a thirsty land, softening and mellowing the 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



215 



soil, there are special advantages, and special means of 
grace enjoyed. Religious meetings are multiplied, ser- 
mons more pungent, prayers more fervent, spiritual con- 
versation more frequent ; and then there is the rousing 
intelligence that this friend is awakened, and that con- 
verted; and who does not know that young converts are, 
usually, not inactive. Having found the one pearl of 
great price, they greatly desire to see their old com- 
panions in the possession of the same blessing. Having 
experienced the grace of God in their own hearts, they 
cannot but "tell to those around what a dear Saviour 
they have found." With David they are inclined to say 
to every unconverted friend, " O, taste, and see that the 
Lord is good ;" and as Moses said to Hobab, his brother- 
in-law, so are they ready to say to every dear relative, 
"We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord 
said, I will give it you; come thou with us, and we will 
do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concern- 
ing Israel." Here are new means of grace enjoyed, new 
appeals made, new considerations presented. In short, 
all the scenes and circumstances of the case are eminently 
calculated to wake up serious thought in the bosom, and 
rouse the soul to an immediate consideration of the high 
claims of God and eternity. Surely, then, a season of 
revival is a precious season — it is a golden opportunity 
afforded for attending to the interests of the undying 
soul. In the great mercy of God this season you now 
enjoy, for right happy am I to say, the Lord is pouring 
out his Spirit here. Christians ! the Lord has heard your 
prayers, and in answer to them he has granted you a 



2l6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



season of refreshing from his presence. You are now in 
the midst of a revival ! How delightfully does this 
announcement fall upon the ear. Yes, I repeat it, and to 
God be all the glory, you are now in the midst of a 
revival ! The Lord is come ! " The Lord is come, let 
earth receive her King; let every heart prepare him 
room, and heaven and nature sing !" O yes, let every 
heart prepare him room ! O, sinner, will you not throw 
open the door of your heart and let the heavenly stranger 
in ? Do not, I beseech you, do not let this season pass 
unimproved. The time may come when you may desire 
to see the things which you now see, and shall not see 
them; and to hear the things which you now hear, and 
shall not hear them. Yes, the time may come when you 
shall have to take up the dismal lamentation, I have lost 
my day; the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I 
am not saved. 

Again : when the Spirit is striving is another peculiarly 
favorable season for seeking the salvation of the soul. 
We may not be able to explain or understand how the 
Divine Spirit operates upon the mind of man, but that 
there is such an operation there can be no doubt, for the 
Scriptures affirm it, and that these operations are more 
powerful at one time than another, this fact also cannot 
be denied ; for sometimes the word of God is made to 
burn upon the conscience in a very peculiar manner, and 
a new concern in relation to spiritual things is waked up 
in the soul. There is a more realizing sense of the vanity 
of the world, of the importance of religion, than common ; 
moreover, the person has a livelier sense of his own sin- 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 21 7 

fulness and need of a Saviour, than perhaps he ever had 
before. He begins to envy the lot of the pious, and 
wishes that he too were a Christian. Now, also, he takes 
more interest in attending upon the ordinances of God's 
house, and feels more inclined to read the Scriptures than 
usual. This is a blessed season. Now the words of the 
Saviour are peculiarly applicable, " Behold, I stand at the 
door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open to 
me, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me." 
And now this passage of Scripture, too, is peculiarly ap- 
propriate, " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not 
your heart;" and this, "Quench not the Spirit." This, 
as we have said, is truly a blessed season, but it is more- 
over a critical time, for sins committed in these circum- 
stances are sins committed against more light and more 
love than ordinary, and therefore are peculiarly sinful. 
O, are there any in this large and solemn assembly under 
the strivings of the Spirit? Remember you are now in 
peculiarly solemn circumstances. You have now come 
to the place where two seas meet. You may now, so to 
speak, be casting the die for eternity ! At any rate, God 
is come down, by his Spirit to talk with you; yea, you 
have now a loud call from heaven — beware how you tun* 
a deaf ear to it, for it may be your last! 

1 Spurn not the call to life and light, 
Regard in time the warning kind; 
That call thou may'st not always slight, 
And yet the gate of mercy find. 

" God's Spirit will not always strive 

With hardened, self-destroying mar \ 



218 



REVIVAL SERMOXS, 



Ye who persist his love to grieve, 
May never hear his voice again," 

With great emphasis, then, may the language of our 
text be sounded in your ears ; and may it go thundering 
through all the chambers of your souls, " Seek ye the 
Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he 
is near." Once more, 

3. You must seek the Lord with all your heart. 
" Blessed are they that seek him with the whole heart," 
says the Psalmist; and says the Eternal God himself — • 
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall 
search for me with all your heart." Jer. xxix. 13. The 
object in view is a great object, and demands the whole 
soul. Some persons seek the Lord, but they do it with 
a divided heart Antagonistical principles seem to be at 
work within them, and they are drawn in different direc- 
tions. Sometimes they are greatly excited; almost 
persuaded to be Christians, but something seems to hold 
them. They are very much like a balloon ready to as- 
cend, but bound down to the earth by a cord ; or like a 
tree, undermined by the torrent, and thrown upon the 
bosom of the stream, a current is bearing strongly upon 
it to sweep it along, and yet it is not swept along. And 
why ? There are some roots binding it to the bank. 
Cut the roots and then it will go, but so long as the roots 
remain uncut, so long does it there remain, see-sawing, 
notwithstanding the current which bears so strongly upon 
it. Just so, many a sinner, undermined by the power of 
divine truth, is thrown prostrate in deep distress and 
humiliation j a current of divine influences is bearing 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



ir 9 



strongly upon him, to waft him to Christ and to glory, 
but there are some roots binding him to the earth. Now, 
the sinner must cut the roots. He must break away from 
all the influences of the world. He must give up everything 
which interferes with his duty to the Maker. He must 
do it, or he cannot expect divine acceptance — he must do 
it, or he must lose his soul. For no man can serve two 
masters, and it is quite impossible to be earthly-minded 
and heavenly-minded at the same time. I recollect mak- 
ing a remark of this kind from the desk, at a certain place 
in Virginia. On coming down from the pulpit, a gentle- 
man came up to me — he was a lawyer of high respecta- 
bility — he came up to me, and grasping my hand with 
emotion, said: — " Stranger, you have described my case 
exactly. Those roots, sir, those roots — they have almost 
ruined me. God helping me, I'll cut the roots!" I saw 
decision marked in his countenance. His mind was made 
up to have salvation, cost what it might. No wonder 
that about two days after he was rejoicing in Christ, and 
subsequently became a much valued elder of the church. 
Ah, my brethren, it is a great matter to have the mind 
made up ; and I have observed that when the mind is 
fully made up, the battle is half won. Only let a person 
be in right down good earnest in seeking the salvation of 
his soul, and the blessing is nigh, even at the door. And 
is it not reasonable, when such great interests are at stake, 
that the mind should be made up? Is it not reasonable, 
when nothing less than eternal life is the prize, that the 
sinner should be in good earnest? See how it is with the 
man who is in the pursuit of wealth: he leaves no stone 



220 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



unturned to increase his golden store. And see the man 
of ambition, who pants after fame, and greatly desires to 
reach some post of honor and distinction; how constantly* 
is he thinking upon the subject! how diligent is he in the 
use of all means for the attainment of the object in view ! 
and if he succeed not, verily his want of success is not to 
be ascribed either to a want of resolution or lack of effort. 
And when life, temporal life, is at stake, O what strug- 
gles, what determination then ! For example — Roused 
from his slumbers at a midnight hour, a man finds his 
house on fire ; his determination is to make his escape. 
Springing from his bed without delay, he rushes to the 
door. Does he find that locked, he hurries to the win- 
dow. Is that fastened, he cries for help, again rushes to 
the door, again to the window. No difficulties cause him 
to give over his efforts to make his escape : they only 
rouse him to still greater and more determined efforts. 
He loses no time, puts forth all his strength, strains every 
nerve to break open the window, to break down the door, 
and if he perishes, it is whilst struggling with all his 
might — if he is consumed, it is because his most vigorous 
and determined efforts have all proved unavailing. O, if 
sinners would but be in such good earnest in seeking the 
salvation of their souls, how certainly would they attain 
everlasting life, how certainly would a crown of 
glory rest upon their heads. But, alas ! when roused to 
make some efforts, how frequently is it the case that these 
efforts are not as resolute and determined as they should 
be. They are interrupted by this thing and that. There 
are difficulties in the way, and various excuses are made, 



ON SEEKING THE LORD, 



221 



at the very time that the sinner should be" crying for 
mercy and seeking help from on high. Nehemiah and 
his associates had great difficulty in building up the walls 
of Jerusalem, which had been broken down. They 
wrought with one hand, while they held a weapon in the 
other, and the result was this— by the good hand of God 
over them, they succeeded: as it is written— " So built 
we the wall, and all the wall was Joined together unto the 
half thereof, for the people had a mind to work." Notice 
the phrase, " the people had a mind to work." Here was 
the secret of their success—their heart was in the matter; 
they were in good earnest in the work in which they were 
engaged. You have heard of the Revolutionary struggle* 
Thirteen feeble colonies contended for independence 
against the mighty power of England. That is, the eagle 
of the West, scarcely fledged, engaged in deadly conflict 
with the lion of the East, in his full strength and vigor ; 
•and to the astonishment of the world success crowned the 
effort; our independence was achieved. How? Under 
God, by the power of resolution. The great secret of our 
-success may be found in the closing sentence of that im- 
mortal document, denominated the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. It is in these words: "In defence of these 
principles, we pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, 
and our sacred honor." O could we see this spirit of 
fixed and settled determination carried into religious mat- 
ters ; could we hear this one and that one saying with 
the Psalmist, " My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is 
fixed;" or with Joshua, " Choose you this day whom ye 
will serve— but as for me and my house, we will serve 



222 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the Lord." * Could this spirit but animate every bosom 
in this assembly, O what delightful scenes would here 
be presented; verily, the voice of joy and gratulation 
would be heard in every dwelling — we should truly have 
a pentecostal time, yea — the millennium in miniature ; 
for remember, the promise is, Ye shall seek me, and 
find me when you search for me with all your heart. O 
ye who wish a blessing from on high, lay hold upon this 
blessed promise; take God at his word; put him upon 
his honor, and eternal life is sure. Eternal life! O think 
what a boon, what a prize this is ! Eternal life ! what is 
it? Were I a glorified spirit, I would know it; were I 
an adoring seraph, I would feel it ; but were I a glorified 
spirit or an adoring seraph, I could never, no never des- 
cribe it. It is to be rescued from the ruins of the fall, 
and restored to the favor of God ! It is to be delivered 
from the perils and pangs of everlasting damnation, and 
to be placed in possession of all the bliss and glories of 
an eternal world of glory ! In short, it is to be saved 
from sin and all its consequences, and to be made un- 
speakably happy, and that forever, and for evermore [ 
A certain ship, as we are informed, was caught up by a 
tremendous tempest and dashed upon the rocks. The 
passengers and crew were precipitated into the deep; 
twelve persons succeeded in getting into the life-boat; 
one poor creature more, struggling in the water, swam 
up to the boat, laid his right hand upon it, and attempted 
to get in. But one within, with a sword, cut off his 
hand ! (It was apprehended that if another was taken 
in, the boat would sink.) But what was the poor man 



ON SEEKING THE LORD. 



223 



to do ? There was no safety in the wreck ; he could not 
swim to land, it was far out of sight — the boat ! the boat ! 
he must get into the boat, or he must perish ! Struggling 
desperately with the rolling billows, he came up to the 
boat a second time, and grasped tt with his left hand. 
That too was cut off! O poor creature, both hands bleed- 
ing, and death looking him in the face, what must he 
do ? " Skin for skin, all that a man hath will he give for 
his life." He fixed his eyes again upon the boat, he came 
up to it the third time and grasped the rudder with his 
teeth. Pity touched the heart of those within, and rather 
than to cut off his head they resolved to run the risk of 
all perishing together. They took him in, and his life 
was saved ! O sinner, you are shipwrecked — you are 
perishing! There is no safety for you in" the wreck and 
you cannot swim to land; it is far away — do you ask 
what it is to be done ? There is a life-boat at hand ; 
Christ is this life-boat; — struggle, O struggle up to him; 
he will not cut off the hand which you imploringly reach 
out to him ! O no ! no ! " His heart is made of tender- 
ness — his bowels melt with love." Cut off your hand ! 
He himself reaches out both of his arms to receive you ! 
O how ready is He to save you from perishing— how able 
and willing to save your soul ! O that this day may be 
with you the day of decision, the birth-day of your pre- 
cious souls ! Come, dear friends, everything seems now 
propitious! O come this day, and cast in your lot with 
the people of God, and let us all have one lot, one Jesus, 
one heaven, one home I 



224 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



SERMON X, 

THE DUTY 0F COMING TO CHRIST. 

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him. — JoHlf 
vi. 44. 

In the economy of redemption, my brethren, Jesus Christ 
is all, and in all ! He is the hiding-place from the wind, 
and without him there is no covert from the tempest ; he 
is the physician of souls, and without him there is no 
spiritual cure ; he is the Saviour of the lost, and without 
him there is no salvation. Hence the unceasing efforts 
made to direct all eyes and all hearts to him. John the 
Baptist, pointing him 'out to his disciples, exclaims, 
" Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of 
the world!" "We have seen and do testify," says John 
the apostle, "that the Father sent the Son to be the 
Saviour of the world." "There is salvation in none 
other," says Peter. "Other foundation," says Paul, "can 
no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ." And, 
according to the testimony of the apostle Peter, in another 
place, this great truth was well known to the Old. Testa- 
ment saints. " For," says he, " to him (Jesus Christ) give 
all the prophets witness, that through him, whosoever 
believeth in him, shall receive remission of sins;" and we 
must not forget the closing testimony of John the Baptist, 
uttered with so much solemnity : " The Father loveth the 
Son, and hath given all things into his hands : he that 
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 225 

believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of 
God abideth en him." To crown the whole, hear the 
words of the blessed Saviour himself: " I am the Way, 
and the Truth, and the Life, and no man cometh unto 
the Father but by me." And again: "If ye believe not 
that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." In the economy 
of redemption, then, Christ being all in all, permit me 
here to make the following remarks, which I wish to be 
distinctly remembered: 

I. It is the sinner's duty to come to Christ; and by 
coming to Christ I mean believing in him, resting upon 
him as the sinner's only hope. Now, we say, it is the 
sinner's duty to come to Christ. Some persons seem to 
imagine it is left to their own option whether they come 
or not, but it is not so; they are commanded to come, 
and they cannot neglect to come without incurring the 
guilt of wilful disobedience, and we may add, the guilt of 
self-destruction. Here is a man shut up in a house which 
is on fire — a door is thrown open, by which he may make 
his escape — is it not his duty, by that door, to make his 
escape ? Here is a person who is dying under the influ- 
ence of poison received into the system; an effectual 
antidote is offered to him ; should he reject that antidote 
and die, is he not guilty of self-murder ? But, 

II. It is the sinner's interest to come to Christ. It is 
remarkable, how beautifully and closely duty and interest 
are linked together in the sacred volume. We are com- 
manded to do nothing whatever which is not promotive 
of our real and best interests. This is emphatically the 
case in the matter now before us; for if it be the sinner's 



226 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



duty to come to Christ, as we have shown, it is equally 
his interest, for there is not a want in the sinner but there 
is a corresponding fulness in the Saviour, as it is written : 
" It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness 
dwell." And again: "Of his fulness," says the apostle, 
have we all received, and grace for grace." I repeat it, 
there is not a want in the sinner but there is a correspond- 
ing fulness in our blessed Redeemer. Is the sinner hun- 
gry? Let him come to Christ, and he shall be made to 
partake of the bread of life. Is the sinner thirsty? Let 
him come to Christ, and he shall be permitted to drink 
of the wells of salvation. Is the sinner sick ? Let him 
come to Christ, and he shall have life and vigor infused 
into his soul. Is he naked? Let him come to Christ, 
and he shall receive a beauteous robe. Is he blind ? Let 
him come to Christ, and he shall have his eyes open to 
see wondrous things. Is he deaf? Let him come to 
Christ, and his ears shall be unstopped to hear the voice 
of uncreated harmony speaking peace to his happy soul. 
Is the sinner burdened? Let him come to Christ, and 
his burden shall be taken away. Is the sinner longing 
for rest? Let him come to Christ, and he shall have 
sweet repose. Is he trembling under the apprehension 
of future wrath? Let him come to Christ, and he will 
find that there is now, therefore, no condemnation to 
them which are in Christ; for, according to the Scrip- 
tures, " Being justified by faith, he shall have peace with 
G d, through our Lord Jesus Christ" Yes, no matter 
w at may be the sinner's wants or woes, Christ is suited 
to his case, in all things — -only, therefore, let him come to 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 22/ 

Christ, and he shall be made rich and happy throughout 
all time, and throughout all eternity. Assuredly, then, 
it is the sinner'9 interest to come to Christ. But, 

III. The sinner must come to Christ, or he must perish 
everlastingly. There is no mistake about this matter ; 
for if Christ, in the economy of redemption, be, as we 
have shown, our all in all, of course those who are with- 
out Christ are without hope ; hence the language of the 
Saviour to his disciples in his last charge, V Go ye into 
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ; 
he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he 
that believeth not shall be damned." This is certainly 
one of the most awful declarations found in all the Bible; 
and it assumes a character of peculiar interest and solem- 
nity, when we remember by whom this declaration was 
originally made, and in what circumstances. By whom 
was this declaration originally made ? Not by an enemy, 
but by a friend — the tender-hearted Jesus — the sinner's 
best Friend, and the final Judge of all mankind. And 
when was this declaration of the Saviour made ? In his 
last interview with his disciples, just as he was about to 
ascend to heaven, there to plead for those for whom he 
had so recently shed his most precious blood — yes, in 
these peculiarly solemn and interesting circumstances he 
said, " He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved ; 
but he that believeth not, shall be damned." Ah ! my 
brethren, the case is clear — Christ is the sinner's only 
hope, and the sinner must come to him, or perish forever! 

IV. Although it is the sinner's duty to come to Christ, 
although it is his interest to come to Christ, and al- 



228 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



though he must come to Christ or perish everlastingly, 
yet such is the reigning power of sin, and such the deep 
depravity of the sinner's heart, and such the dominion of 
the world, the flesh, and the devil, that no man can come 
to Christ except he be divinely drawn. Some stumble 
at this doctrine, and even reject it; but this, surely, must 
be from want of due consideration, for it is certainly 
both a scriptural and wholesome doctrine. Scriptural: 
besides our text, which of itself is sufficient to establish the 
point, we find in the sacred Scriptures numerous passages 
of similar import. For example, "O, generation of 
vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things ?" 
Matt. xii. 34. "Without me," says the Saviour, "ye can 
do nothing." John xv. 5. And, says the apostle Paul, 
" We are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as 
of ourselves." Now here, you will observe, according to 
one passage, we are not able to say, according to another 
we are not able to do, and according to a third we are 
not able to think, anything truly acceptable, as of our- 
selves. These passages are strongly corroborative of 
our doctrine; but there are others equally strong, equally 
conclusive in relation to man's helpless and ruined con- 
dition without divine aid. I need only remind you of 
those well known passages which speak of man's deplor- 
able condition in an unrenewed state. Thus : "And you 
hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and 
sins." Eph. ii. I. Mark, dead in trespasses and sins. 
Can one who is dead of himself come forth out of his 
grave of corruption ? Again, " The carnal mind is 
enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 229 

God, neither indeed can be." Rom. viii. 7. How can the 
sinner of himself convert a heart of enmity into a heart of 
love? Again, " The heart of the sons of men is fully set in 
them to do evil." Eccl. viii. 1 1. The current of the 
ocean you cannot resist, nor the strong current of a 
depraved soul. But why multiply passages of Scripture? 
The doctrine of the sinner's total depravity and helpless- 
ness is taught in every part of the sacred volume, and is 
taken for granted in such passages as these : " O Israel, 
thou hast destroyed thyself." "Ye are his workmanship, 
created in Christ Jesus ;" and, " Except a man be born 
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The doc- 
trine, then, which we advocate, touching the helplessness 
of the sinner in his unrenewed state, is certainly a scrip- 
tural doctrine, and God forbid that we should attempt to 
explain away our text, which so clearly presents the 
doctrine. 

But we said that the doctrine was not only scriptural, 
but a wholesome doctrine. Yes, it is the very one which 
breaks down the pride of the sinner's heart; which causes 
him to feel that he lies at the mercy of God; and the 
very thing which, humbling the loftiness and self-suffi- 
ciency of his soul, prepares him, and inclines him more 
earnestly to seek, and more highly to prize help from on 
high. And I have noticed that the sinner never will 
come to Christ until he finds that he cannot save himself 
— never will come to Christ until he finds that he must, 
positively must, or perish. This is human nature, as it 
may be seen illustrated in other things. 

Here is a man walking along the streets, who is dwell- 



23O REVIVAL SERMONS. 

ing with great complacency upon the thought that he is 
worth a million of dollars. One steps up to him and 
says — " I understand that you owe Mr. A. B. a thousand 
dollars, and he purposes to exact payment. I am very 
sorry for you, sir, and am willing to pay the amount." 
"What do you mean, sir?" replies the millionaire. 
" Suppose I owe a thousand dollars, I can pay my own 
debts. Reserve your benevolence for those who may 
need it." But now, suppose this rich man were a poor 
man ; and suppose, utterly unable to pay his debts, he 
were pressed by the sheriff for a claim of a thousand 
dollars, and the amount he must pay, or be imprisoned. 
Now, if in these circumstances one who was able and 
willing to relieve him should kindly offer to pay the 
amount — " O, sir," methinks he would say, " how could 
I expect such a favor?" And when assured that it was 
done with great cheerfulness, how thankfully would he 
accept the kind offer, and say — "This is kindness indeed! 
O, sir, I owe you a thousand thanks ! I want words to 
express my sense of the great obligations I am under to 
you !" The application you understand. Whilst the 
sinner, in the pride of his heart, imagines that he is rich, 
and increased in goods, and has need of nothing, he 
undervalues the provisions of gospel grace — rejects the 
Saviour; but only let him be brought to feel that he 
owes a thousand talents and has nothing to pay ; let him 
be made sensible that, spiritually, he is wretched and 
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, and O ! then, 
how welcome are the provisions of gospel grace, and 
how dear is the Saviour of lost sinners ! This is the very 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 23 1 



idea presented by Christ himself : — " The whole have no 
need of a physician," says he, "but they that are sick. I 
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repent- 
ance." Here is a man who has fallen over a precipice. 
By his fall he is stunned, and has a limb dislocated. 
Coming to himself, he finds that he is in an evil case. 
The first thought is to rise up and walk away. He 
accordingly makes the attempt; but a limb is dislocated, 
and he sinks down to the earth. He is more sensible of 
the evil of his case, but the spirit of the man is in him, 
and he yet, it may be, calls for no help. He makes another 
effort, more vigorous than the first ; his limb again gives 
way, and down he sinks. We will suppose, now, it is 
bitter cold ; it is snowing fast, and the shades of night 
are drawing on. It flashes upon him — rif no one comes 
to his relief, there he must perish; that spot will be 
his grave, and the falling snow will be his winding- 
sheet. Now, at last, urged by the necessity of the case, 
he cries for help, aye, loudly and earnestly does he now 
cry for help. Observe, whilst he thought he could help 
himself, he called for none; but a full sense of his 
miserable and helpless condition makes him now heartily 
willing to accept aid from any one who can relieve him. 
So it is with the sinner; whilst he imagines that his own 
arm is strong enough, he is not disposed to lean upon 
the arm of another; and while he thinks he can save him- 
self, he is not likely to prize a Saviour: hence the doc- 
trine which teaches him that he is a poor, helpless sin- 
ner, and that he lies at the mercy of God, is a wholesome 
ductrine. It is this which humbles the pride of the sin- 



232 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

ner's heart, and which best disposes him to cry with the 
Syrophenician woman — " Lord, help me !" and with 
Peter, sinking in the wave, " Lord, save, or I perish ?" 

And now let us pause and contemplate the helpless 
and deplorable condition of the sinner, as one lying low 
in the ruins of the fall. He is under the reigning power 
of sin, and he cannot break the reigning power of sin. 
He is under the curse of God's righteous law, 
and he cannot roll away the curse of the law. His soul 
is unfit for heaven, and he cannot make it fit; he is 
bound over to wrath, and he cannot help himself. Aye, 
he is in a state of nature and of sin, and his heart must 
be changed or he can never be saved ; and of himself he 
can no more change his own heart than he can roll a 
mountain, or heave an ocean. Yes, I repeat it, although 
it is the sinner's duty and interest to come to Christ — 
and although he must come or perish everlastingly, yet 
such is the deep depravity of the sinner's heart, such the 
reigning power of sin in his bosom, and such the 
dominion of the world, the flesh, and the devil, that no 
man can come to Christ except he be divinely drawn. 
O, sinner, believe me, you are lost, ruined, and undone ! 
You lie completely at the mercy of God! and you had 
better suffer the tortures of martyrdom than do the 
slightest thing to offend your Maker! Hence the lan- 
guage of the apostle, " Quench not the Spirit." But 
some one may say, The doctrine of the sinner's helpless- 
ness, as stated, destroys all human responsibility. Not 
so — we insist upon it, if he perishes it is his own fault. I 
will explain myself. You are a master ; you write a let- 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 233 

ter, and handing - it to your servant, you direct him 
to take it to a certain person on the other side of the 
river, and bring you back an answer. After a while he 
returns, and you ask him, Did you take the letter over 
the river as I directed you? No, Sir. And why? 
Master, I could not. And why could you not ? Why, 
master, I went to the river; it was deep and rapid, and 
there was no bridge, and I could not swim, so I did not 
go over. Did you call for the ferryman ? No, Sir. 
Then go immediately back, and take the letter over, as I 
commanded you. Now this, I think, is a correct illustra- 
tion. There is something about the passing of that river 
which the servant cannot do, no more than he can roll a 
mountain, or heave an ocean, and yet you do not excuse 
him. Even so in this matter. The sinner is utterly un- 
able to come to Christ, or change his own heart of himself. 
There is, so to speak, a broad and deep river between 
him and heaven, and the sinner cannot swim ; but, 
thank God, there is, if I may so express myself, a 
heavenly ferryman on the other side. Let him 
call upon that ferryman — as it is written, " Seek ye the 
Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he 
is near." And this reminds me of a remarkable passage 
in Scripture, " Let him take hold of my strength, that he 
may make peace with me, and he shall make peace 
with me." Isa. xxvii. 5. Moreover, it falls in precisely 
with this language of the Eternal God, " O Israel, thou 
hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help." Hos. 
xiii. 9. But this leads to my last general remark : 

V. There is a divine drawing; and, thank God, the 



234 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



doctrine of divine drawing is as clearly revealed as tiv~ 
doctrine of man's helpless and ruirfed condition by nature. 
In the sacred volume they are linked together, and what 
God has joined together let no man put asunder. " No 
man," says the Saviour, " can come to me except the 
Father which hath sent me draw him. " This language 
clearly implies that there is such a thing as divine draw- 
ing. We may not be able to understand the operation 
fully, but I believe that a person may be under this sys- 
tem of divine drawing without being fully conscious of it, 
for oftentimes the influences of the Spirit are as gentle as 
the dew. There is such a thing as a still small voice, as 
well as the strong wind which rends the mountains — • 
and the earthquake and the fire. Therefore, although 
we may not be able to explain the mode of the divine 
operation, or even recognize it in every case, yet as a fact 
or doctrine taught in the Bible, there can be no doubt. 
" Draw me," says the spouse, in the Song of Solomon, 
" Draw me, and we will run after thee. " " I have loved 
you with an everlasting love/' says God, in the book of 
Jeremiah, "therefore with loving kindnesses have I drawn 
thee." "And I," says the Saviour, " if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all men unto me;" and in Hosea we 
find this language, " I drew them with cords of a nun, 
with bands of love." 

There are various kinds of drawing, both with God 
and man ; and objects are usually drawn in modes and 
forms suited to the nature of the object drawn. When 
a log is to be drawn to a certain place, a chain is fastened 
to it, and by the application of physical force, it is drawn 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 235 

to the place intended. " I hold in my hand a leaden ball; I 
let it go, and it falls to the ground, drawn by the power 
of gravitation, drawn by the operation of a certain law im- 
pressed upon inanimate matter by the Creator. Again : 
This earth moves round the sun once in every twelve 
months ; and how is this accomplished ? It is drawn 
around, in its orbit, by the joint action of two forces, the 
centripetal and centrifugal. Thus we see that inanimate 
objects are moved, or drawn, by the application of physi- 
cal force, and the operation of certain general laws of na- 
ture. But man is not inanimate matter; he is a moral and 
intellectual being ; he has a mind, a will, a conscience, 
and a heart, and he is drawn by another set of means and 
instrumentalities; he has an understanding, and he can 
feel the power of an argument ; he has a conscience, and 
he can feel the force of an appeal ; moreover, he has cer- 
tain affections and sensibilities, and these can be wrought 
upon in various ways ; and hence it is written, "I drew 
them with cords of a man, with bands of love. " I have 
seen men going from one place to another, and even 
hastening to distant and sickly climes, drawn by a love 
of gain. I have seen wives following their husbands, as 
it were, all the world over, drawn by affection and a sense 
of duty ; and I have seen persons hurrying away to the 
post of danger — braving the fury and storm of battle, led 
on by patriotism, and sometimes purely by ambition, or 
a desire to twine laurels around their brow. Here is a 
crowd gathered together in the house of God this day — 
no physical force was applied, and yet here they are, 
drawn as effectually as if some irresistible physical force 



236 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



had been brought to bear upon them. Some drawn by 
a sense of duty, to worship God; some drawn by curi- 
osity — they heard that there was a religious excitement 
in the place, a revival of religion— and moreover, that a 
stranger was expected to preach. Their curiosity was 
excited, and it has succeeded in bringing them here! 
And some are present, drawn, as I hope, by a secret 
desire to receive spiritual benefit. They have been, it 
may be, under serious impressions for a long time. 
They desire the salvation of their souls, and having 
heard that, within a few days past, several persons have 
been hopefully converted here, they have come, if, perad- 
venture, they may receive the same blessing. Well, 
they are here, and as effectually drawn as the log spoken 
of, or the leaden ball to the surface of the earth by the 
power of gravitation, or the earth around the sun by the 
action of the two forces already mentioned : — each object 
drawn, according to its own nature, and in its own way. 
There is a case of divine drawing in the Scriptures which 
furnishes a good illustration of the case before us— I 
refer to the case of the patriarch Jacob, drawn down into 
Egypt. If, when quietly and pleasantly settled in the 
land of Canaan, some one had said, Jacob, you must go 
down into Egypt, methinks he would have promptly 
said, Not I ! Here are my possessions ; my flocks and 
my herds, my children and my grandchildren, are also 
with me; and here, too, is the grave of Machpelah ; 
here will I live and die, and here will I be gathered unto 
my fathers. And yet, after all, he went down into 
Egypt, and sojourned there, and died there — and no vio- 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 237 

lence was done to his will. And how was this brought 
about? By a remarkable chain of providences. The 
patriarch had twelve sons — one, named Joseph, was 
loved more than they all ; and the patriarch made him a 
coat of many colors, and his brethren envied him, and 
could not speak peaceably unto him; and Joseph 
dreamed certain dreams, and told them unto his breth- 
ren, and they hated him still more on account of his 
dreams; and they conspired against him, and sold him 
to certain Midianite merchantmen, who carried him 
down into Egypt; and there, after many wonderful 
events, Joseph was made governor over all the land of 
Egypt; and there was a famine in the land, and it spread 
far and wide, and reached the land of Canaan where Jacob 
was. Hearing that there was corn in Egypt, he sent 
his sons down into Egypt to obtain supplies — again he 
sent them, and when they returned the second time, they 
brought strange tidings to the patriarch's ears, saying, 
" Thy son Joseph is alive, and he is governor over all 
the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he be- 
lieved them not. And they told him all the words of 
Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw 
the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the 
spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel said, It is 
enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive ; I will go and see 
him before I die." And accordingly he hastened and 
went down into Egypt ; and sure I am, no violence was 
done to his will. He never went to any place more 
cheerfully in all his life ; and, verily, nothing but chains, 
and strong chains, could have prevented him from going 



238 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



down into Egypt. A powerful magnet was there ! The 
patriarch's long-lost, beloved Joseph was there, and his 
heart yearned toward his darling child. He longed to 
see and embrace him once more; all his reluctance to 
going down into Egypt is removed, and he is fully set 
upon going now. And Israel said, " It is enough, 
Joseph my son is yet alive, I will go and see him before 
I die." Thus, without any violence done to his will, he 
was drawn down into Egypt with cords of a man, with 
bands of love. And thus sinners are drawn to Christ. 
They are, it may be, in the midst of worldly enjoyments 
and possessions, and are quietly settled upon their lees. 
They have no concern about their souls nor thought of 
eternity. In the midst of these scenes of worldly con- 
tentment there comes a famine An the land. Afflictions 
come, heavy, grievous afflictions come ; they meet with 
this loss and that disappointment ; this darling child 
was taken away and that beloved companion is laid in 
the grave. Ah ! the world now begins to lose its charm, 
and earthly sources of enjoyment are drying up ; this 
child of affliction is brought to see the vanity of the 
world, the emptiness and insufficiency of all things here 
below, and the importance f securing a portion better 
than anything the world can give. In these circum- 
stances, the soul, by the power of the Spirit, is waked up 
to the high claims of God and eternity; and thus afflic- 
tion is made instrumental in drawing the soul away from 
the vanities of the world, and causing it to rest upon 
Christ as the source of all consolation and all hope. O 
how many in this way have sought comfort in religion, 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 



239 



and in religion have found it ! "It is good for me," says 
the Psalmist, "that I have been afflicted; for, before 
I was afflicted. I went astray, but now have I kept thy 
law." The famine in the land of Canaan was sore, but it 
brought about the joy of meeting with Joseph, which joy 
the patriarch would probably never have had on earth, 
had there been no famine in the land. So some are by 
affliction brought to Christ, and made happy in his love, 
who, without such affliction had in all probability per- 
ished in their sin. O how many in the bright realms 
of bliss, will, upon reviewing the scenes of this lower 
state, exclaim with gratitude and joy, "Sweet affliction! 
blessed affliction ! which weaned my heart from the 
world, and led me to my Saviour and my God ! ' 

But other means are also made effectual by the Spirit 
of God in bringing about the same blessed result. The 
sinner, perhaps by the instrumentality of some awaken- 
ing sermon, or some religious book, or some friendly let- 
ter, or some zealous friend, or it may be, some sacramen- 
tal or death-bed scene, is brought, like the Psalmist, to 
think upon his ways, and turn his feet to the divine tes- 
timonies. His understanding is enlightened, and he is 
brought to see the reasonableness of the claims of his 
Maker, and the value of his own soul. His conscience is 
troubled, and he is brought to see that he is a sinner, 
and justly condemned by God's righteous law. More- 
over, he has a heart, and appeals have been made to it, 
drawn from the goodness of God shown in ten thousand 
things, and the love of Christ in dying for our lost and 
ruined race. And, it may be, the law has spoken out 



240 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



its terrors in thunder to the soul. In short, arguments, 
appeals, motives, and considerations of various kinds are 
brought to bear upon the man with great power. The 
more he thinks, the more anxious he becomes. He sees 
that he has sinned against a holy God ; that he has 
broken God's righteous law, and has incurred its dread- 
ful penalty ; that he can make no atonement for his sins ; 
and that, without a Saviour, he must perish for ever. In 
these circumstances, Christ is held out to him in the gos- 
pel as one who is both able and willing to save all that 
will come unto him. "Light flows in upon the sinner's 
mind, his heart is touched by the Spirit of God, his will 
is subdued, and he is both persuaded and enabled to 
embrace Jesus Christ as he is freely offered in the gospel. 
No violence is done to the sinner's will. Interest, duty, 
love, all lead him to the feet of his blessed Saviour, 
whilst he cries out — " Lord, save, or I perish !" — " Here, 
Lord, I give myself away; 'tis all that I can do." Or, 

«* Welcome, welcome, dear Redeemer, 
Welcome to this heart of mine : 
Lord, I make a full surrender : 

Every power and thought be thine, 

Thine entirely — 
Through eternal ages thine." 

Thus the sinner is drawn, sweetly, powerfully, effectu- 
ally drawn to Christ. And, so far from any violence 
having been done to his will, his whole heart is in the 
matter. He goes to Christ as freely, and cheerfully, and 
joyfully as a hungry man goes to a banquet, or a thirsty 
man to a pool of water; or rather, as the manslayer into 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST, 24 1 

the city of refuge-— or he that is exposed to the pel tings 
of a pitiless storm enters a place of shelter. 

And now, my dear, unconverted friends, forget not the 
things which you have heard this evening. Remember, 
it is your duty to come to Christ; it is your interest to 
come to Christ; and you absolutely must come to 
Christ, or you must perish forever. And O, remember 
that whilst these things are so, yet such is the deep 
depravity of the sinner's heart, and such the reigning 
power of sin, and such the dominion of the world, the 
flesh, and the devil, that no man can come to Christ 
unless he be divinely drawn. O, you who are now under 
divine influences — you who are under conviction of 
sin, and tremble for the salvation of your souls — and you 
who are sensible that the world cannot make you happy, 
and who sigh for something better than the world can 
give, remember you are now under the influence of a 
divine drawing ; beware how you fight against your con- 
victions ; beware how you trifle with your serious im- 
pressions ; beware how you resist these heavenly draw- 
ings, lest they cease, and you be left to yourselves — and 
what then? Your case becomes hopeless! you are 
lost to all eternity ! O, quench not the Spirit! Beware, 
lest, grieving the Spirit, he cease to move upon your 
heart, and you become hardened. And O, think what it 
is to be hardened ! It is to have all the moral and reli- 
gious sensibilities of the soul deadened. It is to become 
reckless and unconcerned. It is to be habitually in such 
a frame of mind that there are no compunctions for the 
past, no apprehensions for the future— deaf to all the; 



242 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



calls of mercy, stupid under all the means of grace. It is 
to be habitually in such a frame of mind, that all 
promises and threatenings are alike disregarded, and all 
motives and appeals equally unavailing. As the dead 
man feels not the burning of the coal lodged in his 
bosom, nor the flinty rock the softening influences of the 
showers of heaven, even so it is with him whose heart 
is hardened. He may be in the sanctuary, but the most 
pungent discourses make no impression. He may wit- 
ness sacramental scenes, but they inspire no solemnity — 
even funeral rites and the burial of the dead affect him 
not. Spread before him the glories of heaven, and he 
is riot allured ; point him to the torments of the damned, 
and he is not alarmed. Lead him to Calvary, and talk 
to him about the love of Jesus and his dying agonies, 
and he is as insensible as steel. Friends may entreat, 
but he heeds not ; ministers may warn, but he repents 
not. Others may feel, but he feels not; others may 
weep, but he weeps not. He is hard as rock; or say,, 

" Some alarming shock of fate 
Strikes through his wounded heart, 
The sudden dread ! another moment, and alas ! 

where past the shaft no trace is found, 

As from the wing no scar the sky retains, 
The parted wave no furrow from the keel." 

The rock may be rived, but it is rock still : it may be 
broken into a thousand fragments, but there is no soften- 
ing yet. And so it is with the sinner, when, the draw- 
ings of heaven resisted and the Spirit quenched, the 
sinner is left to himself, and becomes incorrigible and 



THE DUTY OF COMING TO CHRIST. 243 



hardened — past 'feeling and past hope ! Let me be poor, 
let me be a bondman, let me be a beggar, but let me not, 
given up of the Spirit, be a hardened sinner ! O my 
God, cast me not away from thy presence, neither take 
thine Holy Spirit from me. Fellow sinner, take care 
what you do just now. You are in solemn circumstances, 
and great interests are at stake ! Many of you are under 
the influence of divine drawings now, and some, perhaps, 
who are not fully aware of it. O remember, 

" God's "Spirit will not always strive 

W ith hardened, self -destroying men ; 
You who persist his love to grieve 
May never hear his voice again !' 

O then, let me exhort you, one and all, to make light 
of sacred things no more ; they are too serious to be 
trifled with. Heaven and hell — eternal life and eternal 
death ! What more rousing themes can be presented to 
the mind of man ? O, if any of you have never yet come 
to Christ, let me entreat you to come this day — put off 
the great concern no longer. It is dangerous to delay. 
Your day of grace may close when you least expect it* 
Only one sin more, and the sentence may go forth 
against you, " Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him 
alone!" Yes, only one sin more, and divine drawings, in 
your case, may cease forever ! Here is a beam extend- 
ing over a precipice, a man may take several steps upon 
that beam, but there is one point upon which, if he steps, 
he is gone 1 A cord may sustain a certain weight — add 
one ounce to that weight and the cord breaks ! O, then, 
beware how you take another step in the road to death ! 



244 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



beware how you add another sin to those already com- 
mitted ; and beware how you slight this, which may be 
your last — last call ! Fellow man, eternity is at the door. 
You need a Saviour. There are influences now in opera- 
tion to draw you to this Saviour. For heaven's sake — 
for your dear soul's sake, resist not these influences. O, 
yield, and may you this day find Christ precious to your 
soul — even the chiefest among ten thousand, and the one 
altogether lovely 1 Amen. 



SERMON XL 

VAIN EXCUSES. 
And tliey all with one consent began to make excuse.— Luke xir. 18. 

Why, my brethren, are there so few real Christians 
amongst us? The fact I assume, fori suppose it will 
not be denied. Should the angel of death pass through 
the length and breadth of our land, and sweep into the 
grave all the careless, and all the prayerless ; and return 
and sweep into the grave all the intemperate and all the 
profane ; and return and take away every scoffer, and 
every hypocrite — and return, in short, and take away 
every impenitent and unrenewed sinner, what silence 
would reign in our streets ! what solitude would exist 
in our dwellings ! and how thin would be this congrega- 
tion ! Why this — why so few real Christians ? Doubt- 
less there are many reasons ; such as pride, worldly* 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



245 



mindedness, and a want of thought; but certainly^ one 
reason is this, a self-justifying spirit, prompting the 
impenitent to make vain excuses. This morning I 
design to examine some of the excuses which are com- 
monly urged by the unconverted, for neglecting to obey 
the gospel call. Before I take them up, however, I 
would observe, that there is a general evidence against 
their soundness, arising from some remarkable circum- 
stances : — -their number— their easy relinquishment— and 
the representation which our Saviour gives of them in 
the parable whence we have derived our text. Their 
number : When a person is asked to do a thing which he 
does not choose to do, and yet desires to keep up fair 
appearances, he is very apt to make a great many 
excuses, as if he would make up in number what is 
wanting in the value of his excuses. Precisely so with 
regard to the sinner. Here is an unconverted man, and 
I say to him, My dear sir, I am astonished that a man of 
your good sense should neglect the salvation of your 
soul. Certainly you must admit it to be a matter of 
great importance, why then do you neglect it ? He 
makes one excuse ; before he allows me time to meet 
that excuse, he abandons it for another, and that for 
another; and thus he goes on, retreating, through the 
whole round of his excuses. This, I say, is a very sus- 
picious circumstance : if that man had a single excuse, 
which he really believed to be substantial, would he not 
hold it fast ? but not having any in which he has much 
confidence, he adds one to another, as if, as already said> 
he would make up in number what is wanting in the 



246 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



value of his excuses. Again : Here is another man ; he 
has twenty reasons for neglecting to obey the gospel 
call. Let some alarming disease seize upon him, and he 
forgets one half of them — let death look him in the face, 
he forgets the other half! O, these shadowy excuses! 
If they cannot stand in the presence of disea c 2 and death, 
how can they stand in the presence of the final Judge of 
all mankind ? 

But the representation which our Saviour gives of 
them is conclusive against the soundness of all the sin- 
ner's excuses. A certain man, says he, made a great 
supper, and sent his servant, at supper-time, to say to 
them that were bidden, " Come, for all things are now 
ready : and they all, with one consent, began to make 
excuse." And pray, what were these excuses ? " The 
first said, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must 
needs go and see it; I pray thee have me excused." 
Observe! He was invited to come at supper-time! 
Now supper-time I should think rather an indifferent 
time to see the ground ; and yet no time but supper-time 
will suit him to see the ground. " And another said, I 
have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them ; 
I pray thee, have me excused." Now, if he had bought 
the oxen, the bargain was closed — at any rate, any 
planter, any man in his senses, knows full well that sup- 
per-time is not the best time to prove oxen — yet no time 
can he fix upon to prove these oxen but supper-time. 
" And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore 
I cannot come." Where was the man invited to go — to 
a funeral ? No ! To hear a dull lecture ? No ! Where 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



247 



then ? To a feast r And where could a new-married 
couple go with greater propriety, than to a feast ? And 
yet this is his excuse—" I have married a wife, and there- 
fore I cannot come." This is a very remarkable parable. 
It was uttered by our Lord, who knew what was in man; 
and knew full well how to represent the true character 
of the sinner's excuses, and here he does it to the life 
and admiration, in this truly remarkable parable. And 
now, God helping me, I will endeavor this morning to 
show that the excuses commonly urged by the sinner 
for neglecting to obey the gospel call, are not a whit 
better than they are represented to be in this, as I have 
said, truly remarkable parable. 

I. The Bible is so full of mystery I cannot understand 
it. The Bible so full of mystery ! Just as if the Bible 
was nothing in the world but a bundle of riddles ! No 
plain doctrine, no plain precept, no plain promise, no 
plain threatening — nothing plain! Is this ingenious? 
Is this true ? The Bible says, " Except ye repent, ye 
shall all likewise perish." Is not this plain ? The Bible 
says, " He that believeth not shall be damned." Would the 
sinner wish any thing plainer than this? The Bible says, 
" It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, 
even the chief of sinners." Now this is not only 
remarkably beautiful, but it is remarkably plain ; even 
the child of six years of age can understand it perfectly 
well ; and yet the man says, the Bible is so full of mys- 
tery I cannot understand it ! Ah ! we all see it clearly. 
It amounts to this: I have bought a piece of ground, and 



248 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

I must needs go and see it at supper-time. But another 
comes forward with this excuse : 

II. Religion is a gloomy thing, it has no charms for 
me. Thank God, there are many, both in heaven and 
earth, who think very differently. I never heard that 
religion ever abridged one's happiness in health, or sad- 
dened one's heart in sickness, or lay heavy upon one's 
soul in death. But I think that I have heard that the 
want of religion extorted a cry of agony from the dying 
sinner. Religion a gloomy thing ! has no charms for 
you ! Look at the young convert, how his eyes sparkle ! 
how every feature beams w r ith joy! Hark, how his 
tongue breaks out in songs of praise: 

" When God revealed his gracious name, 
And changed my mournful state, 
My rapture seemed a pleasing dream, 
The grace appeared so great ! 

«< Great is the work, my neighbors cried, 
And owned the power divine; 
Great is the work, my heart replied, 
And be the glory Thine I" 

But suppose there be no rapture, the young convert 
has a sweet complacency in Christ — a heavenly calm, 
and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, 
and which he would not exchange for " all that the world 
calls good or great." It must be so, for what does reli* 
gion do for us ? It gives us a scriptural assurance that 
our sins are all forgiven for Jesus' sake. Is there any 
thing in this to sadden the heart? It gives us the scrip- 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



249 



tural assurance that the great God of the universe is our 
reconciled God and Father in Christ. Is there any thing 
in this to damp the warm feelings of the soul ? It gives 
us, moreover, the blessed assurance that heaven is our 
home ; that angels are to be our future companions ; 
nay, that we ourselves are to be as angels in the world to 
come. I confess I can see nothing in this to sink the 
spirits, or spread any thing like gloom over the mind. 
Ah ! but you say, If I become a Christian I shall have to 
give up all the pleasures of the world. You are called 
upon to give up no pleasures that are really innocent ; 
and can you wish to indulge in those which are not ? 
Here also it must be remembered that true religion is a 
renovating principle. It changes the heart — the whole 
current of the soul — so that a person even in fashionable 
life, or in the full indulgence of sin of any kind, when 
soundly converted, can give up sinful pleasures without 
a sigh, and take up religious duties with real joy; for, 
says the Saviour, " My yoke is easy and my burden is 
light." And again, " There is no man that hath left 
house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for 
the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive mani- 
fold more in this present time, and in the world to come 
life everlasting/' So that, in relation to real pleasure, 
as well as in relation to other matters, it may truly be 
said, " Godliness is profitable unto all things, having 
promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to 
come." Yes, it is even so, and the verdict of thousands 
and millions is this : 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



« 'Tis religion that must give 
Sweetest pleasure whilst we live : 
'Tis religion must supply 
Solid comfort when we die." 

O, worldings! believe me, you are wrong! You are 
seeking happiness in the world. It is but a beggarly 
poVtion for an immortal soul. Has it ever yet made you 
happy ? No ! and it never will, it never can. And let 
these words sink down into your ears — you will never 
know what true happiness is until you are converted; 
and, if never converted, you will never know it, world 
without end. But suppose that religion did make one 
sad and gloomy on earth (which we utterly deny) would 
it not be better, after all, to be a sad and gloomy child of 
God than a thoughtless and merry child of the devil ? 
Would it not be better to go to heaven in a thorny way, 
than to go to hell in a way all strewed with flowers ! 
Then what becomes of the second excuse? It amounts 
to this — I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to 
prove them at supper-time ! 

III. A third excuse is this : If I am elected to be 
saved I shall be saved, do what I will; and if not, I 
cannot, do what I may. This is the sheet-anchor of 
many, their stronghold, that upon which they are dis- 
posed to rest with more confidence perhaps than any 
other ; and after all, if I mistake not, it amounts to this : 
I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. It 
is but an excuse, and not good, for two reasons — (i.) Be- 
it involves an absurdity ; and, (2.) Because it is 
not acted upon in cases exactly similar. 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



(i.) It involves an absurdity, for it amounts to this : 
What is to come to pass will come to pass, whether we 
have any agency in the matter or not. Now the absurdity 
lies here — it supposes the accomplishment of an event, 
without the very means by which the event is to be 
accomplished. As if I should say ; If I am to go to 
London, why, certainly, I shall go tc London, whether I 
embark on board a vessel or not ; or, if we are to have a 
pleasant day to-morrow, assuredly we shall have a pleas- 
ant day to-morrow, whether the sun rise or not. Ab- 
surdity, you perceive, is stamped upon uie face of the 
thing. Those who reach London must pass over the 
ocean, and if there be a pleasant day to-morrow the sun 
must rise. So those who are elected to everlasting salva- 
tion, as the end, must be prepared for it by the sanctiflca- 
tion of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, as the necessary 
means for the attainment of that end. God has connec- 
ted the end and the means, and what God hath joined 
together let not man put asunder. 

(2.) The excuse urged is not a good one, because it is 
not acted upon in cases very similar. Does this planter 
say — If I am to have a crop this year, I shall have a crop 
this year, whether I cultivate my grounds or not. I sus- 
pect he does not say this. Does this other man say- — If 
I am to be rich, I shall be rich whether I make any effort 
or not. Certainly he does not say so. Does the sick 
man say — If I am to get well, I shall get well, whether I 
take any medicine or not. O no ! he does not say so ; 
and yet all these might say so, for I have heard of 
grounds producing crops' without any cultivation; and I 



252 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



have heard of persons becoming rich without any effort. 
Aye, and I have heard of sick persons getting well with- 
out any medicine, but never have I heard of man or 
woman finding the straight gate without seeking it, or 
getting into the narrow way without effort. And here I 
would remark that there is a passage of Scripture just in 
point. Job, speaking of man's temporal life, or the life of 
the body, says, " His days are determined, the number of 
his months are with thee ; thou hast appointed his bounds 
that he cannot pass." Job xiv. 5. Here we are taught 
that the life of man is in God's hand ; that according to the 
divine purpose, some die young, and some are elected to 
old age. In this matter God acts as a sovereign God, and 
so also in the other case, and 

" Not Gabriel asks the reason why, 
Nor God the reason gives. " 

And what, then, does the sick man say ? My days are 
determined, I will send for no physician ; the number 
of months is with him ; I will take no medicine: he has 
appointed the bounds of my life, that I cannot pass, I 
will therefore do nothing. If I am to die of this disease, 
I must die, do what I will ; and if not, I cannot, do 
what I may. Does he say this ? No ! he does not, but 
rather he reasons thus : I know that God, as an infinite 
being, must know all things, and of course must know 
the day of my death; but I know also, and I have fre- 
quently observed, that there is a connection between the 
means and the end. I have seen persons dying, evidently 
for want of medical aid, and I have seen some persons at 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



253 



the point of death, restored to health, evidently by medi- 
cal skill. This is enough for me; secret things belong 
unto God. I see that in all things there is a manifest 
and close connection between the means and the end. 
This is sufficient. Now this is all perfectly rational and 
right in the one case; why should it not be acted upon in 
the other? The grand reason I suspect is this: the sin- 
ner had rather cavil than repent — much rather make 
excuse than give up sin. But while I am upon the sub- 
ject of election, or the decrees of God, take a Jewish 
story : — " Rabbi Hillel sat in the chair of Moses ; his 
fame for wisdom and sanctity was spread far and wide. 
If the Messiah were known to be upon the earth, Rabbi 
Hillel would have been taken for the Messiah; but every 
man at his best estate is altogether vanity. Rabbi Hil- 
lel wished to understand the mystery of the divine 
decrees. To prepare himself for meditation so deep and 
profound, he spent two days in fasting and in prayer ; on 
the third, he ascended the top of Mount Carmel ; 
there his gigantic mind endeavored to grasp the mighty 
theme, but his thoughts rolled back upon his breast like 
stones from the top of Gerizim. At length, wearied by 
his fruitless inquiries, by chance he turned his eye 
toward a spot of earth where something appeared to be 
moving. It was a mole, that having heard that there 
was such a thing as light, and forgetting the weakness 
of its own organs of vision, longed to look upon the sun 
in all its brightness and glory. Scarcely, however, had 
he left his subterranean abode, when, dazzled by the 
overwhelming effulgence of the sun, he wished himself 



2 54 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



back again ; but before he could effect his retreat, ail 
eagle hovering over, flew down, seized the mole with her 
talons, and flew over the valley of the son of Hinnom. 
' Blessed be the God of my fathers !' exclaimed Rabbi 
Hillel, -as he beheld the scene that passed before his eyes 
— ' Blessed be the God of my fathers, who by this little 
incident has taught his servant wisdom — not to be too 
anxious to explore mysteries which are too deep for. 
human comprehension.' " 

My brethren, listen ! The grand inquiry for such 
creatures as we are, is, not whether we can understand 
all parts of the scheme of redemption, but whether there is 
such a scheme, whereby the sinner may be saved. Not 
whether two or three doctrines in the Bible are hard to 
be understood, but whether the Bible itself, which con- 
tains these doctrines, be the word of God? Not whether 
we are of the elect or reprobate, but whether we are sin- 
ners, and need the salvation of Christ? For it is remark- 
able, the very same Bible which asserts the sovereignty 
of God, also asserts the free agency of man. The 
very same Bible which says — whom God foreknew, them 
he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of 
his Son, also says — " Whosoever will, let him take of the 
waters of life freely." Prying into deep mysteries may 
do us as much injury as gazing upon the sun did the 
mole, whose organs of vision could not bear the splen- 
dors of that bright orb of day. Let us, then, never per- 
plex ourselves with those things which are too deep for 
us to fathom; but let us bless God that, according to the 
Scriptures, " It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



255 



acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners, even the chief." Yes, instead of perplexing 
ourselves with things too high and deep for us, let us 
endeavor by grace divine to obtain an experimental 
knowledge of those plainer doctrines which are able to 
make us wise unto salvation ; able to bring us to the 
world of light and glory, where we shall no more com- 
plain of intellectual darkness, for there shall be no 
night there! But another excuse frequently urged is 
this: 

IV. Professors of religion are no better than other 
persons. Now this is either true, or it is not true. If 
true, these professors of religion are not Christians; for, if 
Christians, they must have the Spirit of Christ ; and who 
will say that a man may have the Spirit of Christ and yet 
be no better than those who have not? But even admit 
that professors of religion are no better than other people; 
suppose they are all a set of hypocrites, not excepting 
your own mother, what of that ? Will that make the 
doctrines of the Bible less true, the precepts less binding, 
the promises less encouraging, or the threatenings less 
alarming? Suppose they are all hypocritical, hollow- 
hearted professors, will that blot out this passage of Scrip- 
ture," 1 Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish;" or 
this, V He that believeth not, shall be damned;" or this, 
" Except a man be born again, .he cannot see the king- 
dom of God." You stumble at the inconsistent walk of 
professors of religion ; and alas^ that you should have so 
much • ccasion ! oat t icir sins cannot justify you in the 
day of accounts: even tneir righteousness cannot do it — ■ 



256 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



how much less their sins. You talk about the inconsis- 
tent walk of professors of religion, and did not the Sa- 
viour predict the very thing ? " Wo to the world because 
of offences/' says he, "it must needs be that offences 
come, but wo to that man by whom the offence cometh." 
Leave them in the hands of God j he will by no means 
suffer them to go unpunished ; but, if you be a sinner too 
— dying in that state, is there not to be a reckoning with 
you also ? It is admitted that inconsistent, hollow-heart- 
ed professors of religion are stumbling-blocks in the way 
of salvation ; but if there were stumbling-blocks in your 
way to a golden mine, would those stumbling-blocks keep 
you from rushing to that golden mine ? And is not the 
salvation of your precious soul worth infinitely more than 
all the treasures of a golden mine ? Ah ! my friend, be- 
lieve me, your excuse is not a good one. It amounts to 
this — I have bought a piece of ground, and must needs 
go and see it at supper-time! But 

V. A fifth excuse is this : " There are so many differ- 
ent denominations of Christians, I do not know which is 
the right one." So many different denominations! There 
are, perhaps, one hundred more than you ever dreamed 
of, unless you have read largely upon the subject — and 
what of that? Does that make your soul less valuable, 
or a Saviour less needful, or heaven less glorious, or 
hell less terrible, or eternity less awful ? So many 
different denominations ! And do not most of them 
agree in essential matters ? The apostle says, " Grace 
be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sin- 
cerity." Mark, he does not say, grace be with all them 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



257 



that think alike in every matter — for however desirable 
this may be, it is by no means essential to salvation — 
but "grace be with all that love our Lord Jesus Christ 
in sincerity." And again, he says: "As many as walk 
according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, 
and upon the Israel of God ;" that is, as many as bring 
forth the fruits of a new and regenerate nature, peace be 
upon them. So many different denominations of Chris- 
tians ! They are like the different colors which consti- 
tute the beauteous rainbow upon the body of the dark 
cloud — like the different parts in music, the tenor and the 
counter, the treble and the base — like the radii of a circle 
of which Jesus Christ is the centre, and the nearer they 
come to the centre, the nearer they come to each other ! 
— Or rather, may I not say, that they are like the differ- 
ent companies which compose the grand army in time of 
war. Suppose the powers of Europe should combine 
against the liberties of our beloved country ; and sending 
over their multitudinous and well disciplined troops, 
should threaten to sweep away our republican institutions. 
The fact is announced and war proclaimed by our fede- 
ral government — what a marshalling of the forces for bat- 
tle ! On every hand you hear the sound of the heart-stir- 
ring drum, and the trumpet of war, calling the freemen of 
America to the tented field. What a scene is presented ! 
See, on yonder mountain wave, there floats the gallant 
navy of my country, prepared with her thunder to repel 
the invading foe, or sink into the ocean's depths ! And 
see, on the land, how they come, how they crowd in from 
all parts of this great confederacy ! Are they all horse- 



a 5 8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



men, are they all infantry, are they all riflemen, are they 
all artillerists? Have they all the same weapons of war, 
have they all the same uniform ? What an endless vari- 
ety prevails, and yet what unity. This great army of 
American patriots is composed of many, very many com- 
panies. Each company has its own officers, its own regi- 
mentals, its own weapons of war, and its own mode of 
warfare; aye, and each company has its own little flag, too. 
But see ! the star spangled banner of my country waves 
over them all ! Yes, the star spangled banner of my 
country waves over yonder gallant navy, upon the moun- 
tain wave, prepared to repel the invading foe, or sink into 
the ocean's depths ! The star splangled banner of my 
country waves over the land army in all its variety, pre- 
pared to repel the invading foe, or bite the earth in death ! 
Even so, what are the different denominations of real 
Christians but the different companies which compose 
the grand army of Immanuel, the sacramental host of 
God's elect? Each denomination, so to speak, may have 
its own officers, regimentals, and weapons of war; aye, 
and each may have its own little flag, too. But, mark ! 
the blood-stained banner of the cross — the bond of union 
for every pious heart, waves over them all ! Let the sin- 
ner, then, do what he ought to have done long time ago ; 
let him repent of his sins, and yield his heart to the 
blessed Redeemer ; and, although not falling precisely 
into our ranks, I for one, (and I am sure I speak the sen- 
timents of very many,) I for one, can most cordially give 
him the right hand of fellowship, and say, Is Christ pre- 
cious to your soul? Does his banner wave over you? 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



259 



God speed thee, my brother, in thy holy warfare ! God 
speed thee in thy journey to the skies ! Press on ! We 
differ in some things, but we agree in all essential matters 
—we differ in some things, but we are all members of 
the same household of faith, bought with the same pre- 
cious blood, sanctified by the same Divine Spirit, and all 
passing through one beauteous gate to one eternal home! 
Press on, my brother, we shall soon meet in heaven, and 
there see eye to eye; shall soon meet in our own 
Father's house above, and there salute each other as fel- 
low immortals, and as brethren redeemed ! And now 
what has become of the excuse about so many different 
denominations ? It has vanished into air, it is frivolous, 
it amounts to this : " I have bought five yoke of oxen, 
and I go to prove them" at supper-time ! I pray thee 
have me excused. In other words, it speaks this lan- 
guage—I don't choose to go ! But the same person, it 
may be, brings forward this excuse: 

VI. " What harm have I done ? I do not think that I 
am any great sinner. I have injured no man. I have 
defrauded no man. I have murdered no man. I am not 
covetous, I am not profane, I am not a gambler, nor^ a 
drunkard. I pay all my just debts; I am kind to the 
poor; I go to church; and I subscribe to many of the 
benevolent and charitable institutions of the day." Well, 
be it so. Suppose you are what the world calls a good 
kind of a moral man ; and do you ask what harm have 
you done, and whom have you injured ? You have 
failed to love the Lord your God ; and is this no harm ? 
You have turned your back upon a dying Saviour, and 



260 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

have even trampled upon his precious blood ; and is this 
no harm ? You have grieved the Spirit of God, and it 
may be, have broken many solemn vows ; and is this no 
harm ? You have not remembered the Sabbath day, to 
keep it holy ; you have not improved your great privi- 
leges ; you have wasted much of your precious time; you 
have indulged evil thoughts, harbored rebellious feelings, 
encouraged improper desires — and is this no harm ? 
You have sinned against light and against love; against 
the law and against the gospel ; against the admonitions 
of God's word, the strivings of the Divine Spirit, and 
against the remonstrances of your own conscience. You 
are guilty of sins of omission and of commission ; sins of 
thought, of word, and of deed, and that times and ways 
without number. In short, the charge brought against 
Belshazzar, on the very night in which he was slain, may 
be brought against you : " The God in whose hands thy 
breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not 
glorified." And now, upon thy soul the inscription is 
written — " Tekel, thou art weighed in the balances and 
art found wanting." And yet do you say, What harm 
have I done, and whom have I injured ? O, could you 
see your sins as God sees them, or as they are likely to 
come rolling over your soul in a dying hour, or certainly 
in the great judgment-day, methinks, instead of saying, 
What harm have I done, and whom have I injured — you 
would say, Innumerable evils have compassed me about ; 
my sins have gone over my head as a cloud ; they are 
a burden too heavy for me ; and with the publican you 
would cry, " God be merciful to me, a sinner." O, re- 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



26l 



member that it is written, " Cursed is every one that con- 
tinueth not in all things written, in the book of the law to 
do them." And whilst you are relying upon your own 
righteousness, remember also the words of the holy apos- 
tle, "Other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which 
is Jesus Christ." Your excuse, then, is a vain one ; it 
will not stand. Be assured God, your Judge, will not 
receive it. It is one of those refuges of lies spoken of 
in the Scriptures which the hail shall sweep away. Then 
give it up; why should you hold fast to an excuse which 
you know to be not a good one? But the excuses of the 
sinner are not yet exhausted, for he says : 

VII. " God is too merciful to punish sinners." Now 
to determine this, we must have recourse not to our own 
imaginations, but to the sacred volume ; for, aside from 
the Scriptures, we would literally know nothing at all 
about such matters. The Bible then — the blessed Bible ! 
" This is the judge that ends the strife, where wit and 
reason fail." And now, to determine the case before us, 
we need to inquire only in relation to two things : 
(1.) What has God said? and (2.) What has God done? 
(1.) What has God said? He has said, it is true, that 
he is long-suffering, abundant in goodness and in truth ; 
but he has also said, that he will by no means clear the 
guilty. He has said, it is true, that he has no pleasure 
in the death of the wicked ; but he has also said, if the 
wicked turn not, he will whet his sword, and his hand 
will take hold on vengeance. He has said many things 
most consoling to the penitent and broken-hearted sin- 
ner, but upon all others he denounces terrible things. 



262 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



"-Wo," says he, "to the wicked, it shall be nil wth him." 
And again, " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise per- 
ish." And again, " He that being often reproved, hard- 
eneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that 
without remedy." Declarations like these, you know, 
my dear friends, are very common in the sacred volume, 
and you cannot believe they were intended to be mere 
vain words. Let the sinner then seriously consider what 
God has said, and what is before him. God is merciful. 
Yes, and we are glad to add, he is rich in mercy — his 
mercy is overall his works, and endureth forever; but 
remember also, " God is not a man that he should lie, 
nor the son of man that he should repent." " Has he 
said it, and shall he not do it ?" " For ever, O Lord, thy 
word is settled in heaven!" (2.) But what has God 
done? Expelling rebel angels from heaven, he cast 
them down to hell ! Driving fallen man from paradise, 
he subjected him to death, temporal, spiritual, and eter- 
nal. The antediluvians were God's creatures, and yet, 
being sinners, the flood came and swept them all away. 
The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were God's 
creatures, and yet, on account of their sins, you know 
very well what befel them. The Lord rained upon them 
fire and brimstone out of heaven ; and, according to the 
apostle, they were set forth as ensamples, suffering the 
vengeance of eternal fire. Let not the sinner, then, who 
continues in sin, expect to escape the righteous judgment 
of Almighty God, for it is written, "Though hand join in 
hand, yet shall not the wicked go unpunished." And 
again — " Be not deceived, God is not mocked, f >r what- 



VAIN EXCUSES. 263 

soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." There is 
a way, thank God, in which salvation may come to the 
sinner as a flowing stream. Through the great atoning 
sacrifice of Christ, God can pardon the repenting sinner, 
and yet maintain the honors of his throne ; but, let the 
sinner reject the plan of salvation proposed in the gospel, 
and he rejects mercy herself — and mercy thus scorned 
and rejected, will herself grasp the sword, and turn exe- 
cutioner. The wrath of the Lamb ! O who can bear it! 
But another comes forward and says : 

VIII. " Really, sir, I have not time to attend to the 
matter." And what was time chiefly given for, but to 
prepare for eternity. Here is a servant sent upon an im- 
portant errand, but, gathering flowers and pebbles by the 
way, he lingers and says, I have not time to go upon the 
errand. Here is a planter ; the time for putting his 
seed into the ground is come, but his grounds are not 
ploughed, nor are his fences up; and, sporting with his 
hounds, or amusing himself in his garden, he pleads he has 
not time to sow his fields. Not time ! You have time 
to attend to your bodies — why not time to attend to your 
souls ? " O ! Mr. Ryland, I have not time to attend to 
such matters." Observe, this was the language of a cer- 
tain member of Congress to the chaplain of Congress, at 
the time the man of God urged him to attend to the great 
interests of his undying soul. "O ! sir," said he, "I have 
not time to attend to such matters." Men of the world, 
listen ! This member of Congress was a lawyer. He 
made, as I am told, twenty thousand dollars a year by 
his practice as a lawyer. He was a senator — one of the 



264 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



most brilliant stars which ever coruscated in the senate 
chamber. Moreover he was an orator, a finished orator, 
if there ever was one in this land of ours. His tongue 
was the tongue of the learned, it dropped manna ; persua- 
sion dwelt upon his lips. All who heard him were 
charmed with his silver-toned voice, and the heart-stirring 
strains of his enrapturing eloquence. When it was 
known that he was to speak in the senate chamber, it 
was difficult to keep a quorum in the other house ; and 
on a certain occasion, when he had made a most brilliant 
speech on the Missouri question, John Randolph, (cer- 
tainly a judge of eloquence, if of nothing else) — yes, John 
Randolph, in perfect admiration exclaimed, " I had rather 
be the author of that speech than Emperor of all the 
Russias." This is the man, the lawyer, the statesman — 
the great and brilliant man, who, when urged to take 
care of his soul, replied, " O, Mr. Ryland, I have not time 
to attend to such matters." Ah me! "What shadows we 
are, and what shadows we pursue !" This very man, only 
a few weeks after, was shrouded and laid in the grave ! 
And now, as he is sinking in the cold embrace of death, 
the same chaplain comes to his bed-side, and for the 
last time admonishes him to take care of his soul. What 
does he now say ? " O Mr. Ryland, the world has ruined 
me !" Remember, I do not draw aside the curtain ; I 
will not pronounce concerning his doom; but on the 
supposition that his last words were true, " the world has 
ruined me!" on that supposition, where is he now? In 
the dark world of wo ! And what is it to him, this mo- 
ment, that he was once able to amass twenty thousand 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



dollars a year by his practice as a lawyer ? Alas! now he 
has not silver and gold enough to purchase one poor 
drop of water to cool his tongue, tormented in penal 
flames! And what is it to him, this moment, that he 
was once the most brilliant star that ever glittered in the 
senate chamber of the United States ? Alas ! this star 
is fallen ! Its brilliancy is quenched in the gloom of the 
pit that has no bottom ! And what is it to him now, that 
once his tongue was the tongue of the learned ; that it 
dropped manna; that persuasion dwelt upon his lips, and 
that all who heard him were charmed with the strains of 
his surpassing eloquence? Does he speak? It is in 
groans of- anguish and shrieks of despair — methinks 
he cries out in the agony of a lost soul, "I have lost 
my day, I have lost my soul! The harvest is passed, 
the summer is ended, and I am not saved!" You have 
not time to attend to your spiritual interests! What says 
the Saviour, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness." This is to be sought as an object of the 
first importance, and in the first place; and for this a good 
reason is assigned in another place, "What is a man pro- 
fited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own 
soul?" 

IX. "I know that religion is important: I do not intend 
to neglect it, but there is time enough yet." — You admit 
that religion is important, and yet you seem disposed to at- 
tend to anything and everything else first! You admit that 
religion is important ; we are pleased that you make this 
admission, but better proof of your sense of its importance 
would give us more pleasure still, But you say, you do 



266 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



not intend to neglect it. Are you not mistaken ? Let 
us test this matter. Is it your purpose to attend to it this 
day, to-morrow, the next week, the next month, or the 
next year? No, you say, you have not exactly formed 
any resolution of this kind. Then it seems you are quite 
reconciled to the idea of neglecting it at least for one day, 
one month, and even for one year ! O, there is some- 
thing awful in this! Something to make one shudder! 
It speaks this language : Terrible as the loss of the soul 
is, I am willing to. expose myself to the peril of it, for at 
least one year more ! But you say, you have time enough 
yet. What if you should die this night! And what se- 
curity have you that you shall not ? — I am free to confess 
I do not think it likely that you will die to-night, but it is 
quite possible, and the bare possibility of your dying in 
your present state, this night, surely it is enough to take 
away sleep from your eyes, and slumber from your eye- 
lids ! I recollect when I was yet unconverted. I was 
sometimes afraid to go to sleep at night, lest I might 
never wake up in this world any more ! And I recollect 
making a remark of this kind one evening at the house 
of a friend in Texas, some years ago, and it was blessed 
to the hopeful conversion of one precious soul. Suppose 
you think upon the matter; it may, by grace divine, he 
the means of saving you from going down to the pit. 
Remember, your breath is in your nostrils, and God may 
stop that breath any moment. But why do you think 
that there is time enough yet ? Are you young? Some 
younger than you are now sleeping in their graves. Are 
you in strong health? Ah, me ! some not only in youth. 



VAIN EXCUSES. 



267 



but in strong health, have been cut down, and that with- 
out warning. O, I could mention so many cases that 
have fallen under my own observation, and some, too, of 
a most melancholy character. And am I wrong ? Some 
cases of a similar kind have been known to you. " In 
the midst of life we are in death." O, how many illustra- 
tions of this fact occur every year, and in every place! 
And do you still say, " There is time enough yet!" Had 
you seen Mr. Loomis, of Bangor, ascend the pulpit on a 
certain new-year Sabbath, you would have thought it 
probable that he would ascend his pulpit many Sabbaths 
yet to come. Alas ! he had entered it for the last time. 
He arose and took his text; it was this: "This year thou 
shalt die." He made a few remarks, turned pale, and 
sank down in his pulpit a lifeless corps. His pulpit was 
his death-chamber, and his gown his winding-sheet. 
" Time enough yet !" If you had seen Judge Boling rise 
up in the hall of the House of Representatives a few years 
ago, and address the Speaker, you might have expected 
him to make many more speeches in that hall of legisla- 
tion ; but, alas ! he was then making his last speech. "Mr. 
Speaker," said he : and while addressing the chair, the 
angel of death touched him, and he fell down a dead 
man! " Time enough yet ! " If you had seen Colonel 
Bowie, some eighteen or twenty years since, enter a cer- 
tain church in the city of Washington, you would little 
have thought that he had entered the church of God for 
the last time ; but so it was. While the man of God in 
the pulpit was preaching to the people the unsearchable 
riches of Christ, all who were present heard a groan! It 



268 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



was his last. Colonel Bowie fell upon the floor and im- 
mediately expired ! His friends gathered around and car- 
ried him out a dead man. And O, who can forget the 
sudden death of Emmet, of Harper, and of Clinton ; and 
especially the tragical and most melancholy affair on 
board the Princeton, when two of the heads of the depart- 
ments of government, with several other distinguished 
individuals, were in a moment launched into eternity? 
Ah! my brethren, we can compute the length of any natu- 
ral day, but not how long any man is going to live on 
earth ; we can tell precisely when the natural sun will set, 
but not when the sun of life will go down. Sometimes 
the period of man's life is lengthened like a summer's 
day ; sometimes it is made short as a day in midwinter. 
Sometimes the sun of life goes down at noon, and some- 
times while it is yet early in the morning. Sometimes it 
fades away like the fleecy cloud on the azure sky; some- 
times it appears like the meteor flashing and coruscating 
in the heavens, and then in a moment quenched and gone 
out. 

** Our life contains a thousand springs, 
And fails if one be gone ; 
Strange that a harp of thousand strings 
Should keep in tune so long." 

"Boast not thyself of to-morrow," said one who uttered - 
many wise sayings ; " Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for 
thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." When 
such mighty interests are at stake, none should presume 
upon the future. " Be wise to-day, 'tis madness to defer." 

Once more : " I must wait God's time." Some really 



VAIN EXCUSES* 



269 



seem to be waiting for miracles. I know very well that 
Saul of Tarsus was miraculously arrested on his way to 
Damascus • but let not every sinner expect miracles on 
his way to Damascus. But does not David say, " My 
soul waiteth for the Lord"? Certainly he said so, but did 
he not also add, " More than they that watch for the 
morning"? How remarkable the expression, "More than 
they that watch for the morning;" that is, more than the 
nurse in the chamber of the sick man, who looks out at 
the window, and longs for the breaking of the day; of 
more than the sentinel in a damp cold night looks 
towards the east, and longs for the rising of the morning 
star. Can you say that you do wait for the Lord more 
than they who do thus long for the breaking of the day 
and the rising of the morning star ? You are waiting 
God's time. Is this really so ? Then, be it thus ; but 
remember, the present is his time, as it is written, " Be- 
hold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the day 
of salvation." And again, " Choose ye this day whom 
you will serve." And again, " To-day, if you will hear 
his voice, harden not your hearts." 

And now, my friends, in closing, hear me \ O, do 
attend to what I say ! Only a little while, and we shall 
have done with the scenes of this transitory state- — only a 
little while, and our race will have been run, our proba- 
tion closed, and our character and destiny sealed forever! 
Our eternal all is at stake ! Let there be no trifling in 
this matter ; bring near the scenes which are certainly 
before us. Suppose you were now upon a dying bed, 
how would your excuses appear ? Suppose this was the 



270 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



very moment of your leaving the world — pulse quivering, 
blood freezing, heart-strings breaking, soul panting, 
shuddering, launching away — how would your excuses 
appear ? But change the scene. Suppose this were the 
great judgment-day, and all its tremendous scenes now 
passing before you — trump sounding, dead rising, God 
descending, angels shouting, devils wailing — in these 
solemn circumstances how would your excuses appear? 
If your excuses are good, my counsel is, hold them fastj 
Do not let the minister take them from you ; do not let 
your mother take them from you; let no one take them 
from you. If you are sure they are good, I repeat it, 
hold them fast; carry them with you all along the jour- 
ney of life; carry them with you down into the grave, 
and up to the judgment bar; plead them before your 
Maker. If your excuses are good, God is just, and he 
will sustain them. But if they are not good, (and is there 
not a misgiving in your heart, even now — aye, a convic- 
into that they are not good?) I change my counsel 
altogether. If not good, do not hold them fast ; I be- 
seech you, do not carry them with you through the jour- 
ney of life! Do not, I entreat you, as you value your 
precious souls, do not carry them with you down to the 
grave nor up to the judgment bar, lest God look upon 
you, and you wither away — lest God frown upon you, 
and you perish forever] 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



271 



SERMON XII. 

IDLENESS REPROVED. 

And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing' idle, and 
saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?— Matthew xx. 6. 

It was foretold of our blessed Saviour, that he should 
open his mouth in parables, and we find that it was often- 
times in this way that he instructed his friends and 
silenced his enemies. The parable of the householder, 
like that of the prodigal son, is of a national character, 
and was primarily designed to represent the Jewish and 
the Gentile nations, and to exhibit the goodness and the 
sovereignty of God. By the vineyard we are to under- 
stand the Church of God. By the householder the Head 
of the Church. By the laborers hired early in the morn- 
ing, we may understand those brought in in the patri- 
archal age. By those hired at the third, sixth, and ninth 
hours, those brought in under the ministry of Moses, 
Samuel, and John the Baptist; and by those hired at the 
eleventh hour, the Gentiles are evidently intended, who 
were brought in at that period of the world commonly 
denominated the last days. . By accommodation, and for 
important practical purposes, we may take this view of 
the subject. By the vineyard we may understand, as 
before, the Church of God ; by the householder, the Head 
of the Church ; whilst by the day we may understand the 
season of grace allotted to us in this world ; and by the 
different hours in which the laborers were hired, we may 



272 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



understand the different periods in which sinners are 
converted and brought into the bosonrof the Church. 
Taking this view of the parable, we wish 

I. To point out those who are spiritually idle, and 

II. Mention those who have probably reached the 
eleventh hour. 

I. Point out those who are spiritually idle. To deter- 
mine this matter, we need only inquire, What is that great 
business which we have to attend to in this world ? and 
then it will, of course, follow as a necessary consequence, 
that those who are neglecting this grand concern, are, 
and ought to be, numbered with those who are spiritually 
idle. And now, my brethren, what is this great concern ? 
Rest assured, God Almighty never sent us into this world 
merely that we might plant, and build, and buy and sell, 
and get gain, and then go and sleep an everlasting sleep 
in the grave. How much less did he send us into this 
world that we might run the round of worldly pleasure, 
and fashion, and sin, and folly, and then drop into the pit 
which has no bottom! O no ! Man has an immortal 
soul, and a higher destiny awaits him. He is to prepare 
for another and a better world. According to the Scrip- 
tures there is a heaven. O heaven, sweet heaven ! The 
purchase of a Saviour's blood, the Christian's rest, the 
pilgrim's home, the dwelling-place of love, of glory, and 
of God ! The patriarchs are there, the prophets are there, 
the martyrs are there, our blessed Saviour is there, aye, 
and all who have fallen asleep in Jesus are there ! O 
heaven, sweet heaven ! the loveliest and most desirable 
place in all the empire of the great God? This being the 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 273 

case, our great business on earth is to live and act in such 
a manner that, having glorified God in our day and gen- 
eration, we may, when death comes, have nothing to do 
but to die, to fall asleep in Jesus, and wake up in that 
holy and happy world, and there be with God and his 
angels forever and ever ! Yes, my brethren, this is our 
great business on earth, and, in comparison with it, every- 
thing else dwindles into perfect insignificance ; for " what 
is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his 
own soul ?" And now, let it be remarked, there are two 
things which constitute essential parts of this business of 
preparation for heaven, viz., repentance toward God, and 
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I. We must repent of our sins. — This was the burden 
of John the Baptist; with this doctrine our Saviour com- 
menced his ministry, and you recollect the language of 
Paul upon Mars Hill. "The times of this ignorance," 
says he, "God winked at, but now commandeth all men 
everywhere to repent." And for this he assigns a sub- 
stantial reason; "for," continues he," God hath appointed 
a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness." 
And you recollect that when some told our Saviour of 
certain Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with 
their sacrifices, he replied, " Think ye that these Galileans 
were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered 
such things ? I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye 
shall all likewise perish." How sweeping is this lan- 
guage ! "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." 
He comes, as it were, to the rich man rolling in affluence, 
and says : Thinkest thou, O rich man, that thy wealth on 



274 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

earth will plead for thee in the day of judgment? I tell 
thee nay, "but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
perish." He comes to the poor man, struggling with ad- 
versity, and says: Thinkest thou, O poor man, that thy 
trials on earth will exempt thee in the day of reckoning? 
I tell thee nay, "but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
perish." He comes also to the man of silvery locks, and 
says: Thinkest thou, aged man, that thy silvery locks will 
stand thee instead at the bar of thy Maker? I tell thee 
nay, " but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." 
Aye, and he comes to the young man and the young 
maiden, who have the freshness of youth upon them, and 
says: Thinkest thou, O vain youth, that the dew of thy 
youth will plead for thee in the day of final accounts ? 
I tell thee nay, " but except ye repent, ye shall all like- 
wise perish." I repeat it, the language is sweeping — all 
have sinned, says the apostle, and therefore all must re- 
pent, or there is no such thing as entering the heavenly 
world. The Bible settles the matter, and we see that it 
must be so in the very nature of the case ; for, suppose the 
sinner to enter heaven in an impeViitent state, what would 
he do there? Certainly he would justify himself, and 
condemn his Maker. He would plant the standard of 
revolt " hard by the throne of God," and teach lessons of 
rebellion to the loyal and happy ones in glory. The 
thought is horrible. The case then is doubly clear, that 
where God is, the impenitent sinner cannot come; where 
heaven is, the impenitent sinner can have no place. 
These things being so, repentance forming an essential 
pcu i oi the business of preparation for heaven, it is im- 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



275 



portant that we know what true repentance is. It im- 
plies a conviction of sin. Serious thought is not 
enough; we must feel that we are sinners, and great sin- 
ners, in the sight of God, and that it is of his mercies that 
we have not been consumed. Moreover, true repentance 
implies sorrow of heart that we have sinned against a 
Being so good and great ; and especially that we have 
so long slighted and rejected a dying Saviour. Besides, 
in true repentance, there is always a settled purpose to 
forsake our sins and turn from all our evil ways. Be- 
lieve me, brethren, this work of repentance is a deep 
work. It takes hold upon the heart, and revolutionizes 
all the feelings of the soul. We must repent, not like 
the hypocritical Ephraimites, who howled indeed upon 
their beds, but cried not unto God in their hearts ; nor 
like the king of Egypt, who repented whilst the mighty 
thunderings were sounding in his ears, but who, so soon 
as they were hushed, sinned on as before; nor like the 
unhappy Judas, who legally repented, and then went and 
hanged himself. No! but we must repent like a David, 
who offered to God the sacrifice of a broken heart and a 
contrite spirit. We must repent like the prodigal, who 
said, " I will arise and go to my Father, and say unto 
him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy 
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son ; make 
me as one of thy hired servants ;" and who arose and 
did accordingly. In short, we must repent like the pub- 
lican, who, "standing afar off^ would not so much as lift 
up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, 
God be merciful to me a sinner." And now permit me 



276 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



to ask each one in this assembly, respectfully, have you 
repented? You have shed many tears, it may be, but 
not one for your sins. You have heaved many sighs, but 
perhaps not one for your sins. And you have felt many 
a pang, but not one for your sins. Is this so ? Alas ! 
you have neglected one of the essential parts of the busi- 
ness of preparation for heaven ; you are numbered with 
those who are spiritually idle; and what if the angel of 
death touch you, in your present state ? Alas ! you are 
undone, gone forever! But 

2. We must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. — This is 
another essential part of the business of preparation for 
heaven. You recollect that when certain ones asked our 
Saviour what they should do to work the work of God, 
he replied, "This is the work of God, that ye believe in 
him whom he hath sent." And so important and so es- 
sential is this, that the Saviour himself says, "He that 
believeth not, shall be damned." And now, what is it to 
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? There need be no dif- 
ficulty. Understanding the way of salvation, through a 
crucified Saviour, and approving of that way, we are cor- 
dially to accept of it, thanking God for his unspeakable 
gift. But as so much has been said about historical faith, 
temporary faith, saving faith, and the like, it may be proper 
for us to examine the matter a little further. Faith, I would 
define to be the belief of the testimony of God in general, 
having special reference to Christ as the sinner's only hope, 
or in other language, it is simply to take God at his word. 
In the eleventh chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews 
we find numerous exemplifications of the nature of faith. 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



277 



For example: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of 
things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark 
to the saving of his house." God had said unto Noah, 
"The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is 
filled with violence through them, and behold, I will 
destroy them with the earth; make thee an ark; and 
behold I, even I do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, 
to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life from un- 
der heaven, but with thee will I establish my covenant, 
and thou shalt come into the ark, thou and thy sons, thy 
wife, and thy son's wives with thee." Now Noah believed, 
in his heart, that it really would be just as God had said, 
and he acted accordingly. This was faith, in relation to 
this matter. Let a similiar faith be exercised in relation 
to Christ, and the soul is saved. For example it is writ- 
ten, Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone, a 
tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation, and 
he that believeth in him shall not be ashamed.* Now, 
let the sinner venture his soul on this naked promise of a 
God that cannot lie. Let him take God at his word, and 
put him upon his honor, and he exercises that faith 
which will assuredly land the soul in glory. The illus- 
tration of Cecil is in point; it is substantially this: Com- 
ing into his house one day, he saw his little girl amusing 
herself with some beautiful beads: wishing to teach her 
the nature of faith, he said, "My daughter, throw those 
beads into the fire." O ! how could the little girl throw 
her pretty beads into the fire ? And as she was hesita- 
ting, her father added, "My daughter, throw those beads 

♦Compare Isaiah xxviii. 16, with Romans ix. 33. * 



278 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



into the fire, and you shall not lose by it." The little 
girl looked in her father's face, to see if he was in good 
earnest : convinced of this, she made a desperate effort, 
and threw her beads into the fire. The. next day he went 
out and bought a number of beautiful articles, likely to 
please a girl of her age, and coming in, with a pleasant 
countenance, said, "My daughter, your father makes you 
a present this morning of this box and all it contains." 
" What," said she, " all these beautiful things mine, papa?" 
"Yes, my dear, this is your father's present this morn- 
ing." "What, all these beautiful things mine?" — Almost 
too good to be true ! And now, whilst her eyes were 
sparkling with delight, and her little heart was dancing 
for joy, her father said, " My daughter, do not you recol- 
lect yesterday I said, Throw those beads into the fire, and 
you shall not lose by it ?" " Yes, papa." " Well, have 
you lost anything by it now?" " O ! no, papa," said she, 
"no indeed!" "Now," replied he, "I have done this to 
show you what faith is. The Bible says, Believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall not lose by it. Believe 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 

How perfectly simple faith is ! I repeat it, it is just to 
take God at his word, and put him upon his honor. A 
man dreamed once, (I care nothing about dreams, but I 
like illustrations,) — a man dreamed once that he was going 
along in the broad road, and Satan was dragging him 
down to hell : alarmed, he cried for help, and suddenly 
one appeared in a lovely form, and said, " Follow me !" 
Immediately Satan vanished ; and in his dream the man 
thought he followed the heavenly one in a straight and 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 279 

narrow way, until he came to a river, where he saw no 
bridge. Pointing in a certain direction, the angel said, 
"Pass over that bridge." "I see no bridge," said the 
man. " Yes, there is a bridge, and you must pass over 
it, for there is no other, and heaven is beyond." Look- 
ing more narrowly, the dreamer saw what appeared to be 
a hair, extending from one bank of the river to the other 
bank. " Pass over on that," said the angel. " O, how 
can 1 ?" said the man, " it is too slender, and cannot sus- 
tain me." "It will sustain you. I am from above; I lie 
not, and I give you my word it will sustain you." And 
now, whilst the man was trembling and afraid to venture, 
he thought that Satan again seized upon him to drag him 
down to hell. Urged by necessity, he put his foot upon 
the bridge, slender as it appeared, and found it solid 
plank, a substantial bridge, and he went over safely, and 
entered shouting into the heavenly .world. Now the 
awakened sinner, under divine influences, is brought, so 
to speak, to the bank of the river. Heaven is beyond, 
tie asks how he can reach that happy world. He is told 
he must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shall be 
saved; but this promise is not enough; it appears only 
as the h tir extended from one bank of the river to the 
ter bank. The sinner wants something more substan- 
tial; but this is the bridge which must take him over, 
and there is no other. And slender as the bridge of 
divine promise may appear in his eyes, only let him ven- 
ture upon it, and he shall know that it is strong enough 
to sustain millions. Some persons stumble at the sim- 
plicity of the way of salvation. There is no occasion, for 



28o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



everything that God does is marked with simplicity. 
What man does is apt to be complicated ; but in union 
with wisdom and grandeur, a beautiful simplicity reigns 
throughout all the works of God. Suppose, my friends, 
you and I had the lighting up of the world, what a com- 
plicated machinery we would have ! How many ten 
thousand lamps would we make use of! and the world 
by these would not be well lighted up after all. But God 
proposes to light up the world, and, only see! one bril- 
liant sun, like an urn of overflowing light, pours day upon 
the world ; better, infinitely better, than all our lamps. 
Even so, if all the ministers on earth, aye, and if all the 
angels in heaven, should unite their efforts to save one 
sinner from the damnation of hell, it would be all in vain. 
But thank God, one loving, dear, dying Christ can save 
millions, can save all who will come unto God through 
him. Hence this language of the Saviour himself: "As 
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so 
must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believ- 
eth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." And 
as many are apt to stumble at the simplicity of this way 
of salvation, the Saviour comes over the same ground 
again, substantially, in the very next verse: "For," con- 
tinues he, *• God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life." In the next verse the 
same idea is, with some change of phraseology, presented 
a third time, and in the following verse even a fourth 
time. This is remarkable, and it seems to speak this lan- 
guage; — Ye sons of men, marvel not at the simplicity of 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



28l 



the way of salvation. This is the way — this is the way ! 
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. 
And, to crown the matter, how clear and easily under- 
stood is the Saviour's illustration in reference to the brazen 
serpent. The children of Israel were bitten by fiery ser- 
pents. The venom was deadly. Moses could not heal 
them; the elders of Israel could not heal them; nor 
could they heal themselves. God alone could meet the 
case. In the plenitude of his mercy he directs Moses to 
prepare a brazen serpent, and place it upon a pole in the 
midst of the camp; and was pleased to pledge his veracity 
that those who, when bitten, would look, should live. 
Here is an Israelite bitten. He is in the most remote 
part of the camp, writhing in agony upon the ground. 
"O send for Moses," says he, "send for the elders." 
They come, and ask what is the matter? "O Moses," 
replies he, "a serpent has bitten me, I am in agony, I am 
dying ! O help me !" " I cannot help you," says Moses. 
''Elders of Israel, for pity's sake help a dying man!" 
■- We cannot help you," say they. " Well, what is to be 
done; must I die?" "Certainly not. There is no neces- 
sity," says Moses. " Yonder is the brazen serpent, placed 
upon the pole for this very purpose, that those who are 
bitten, on looking, should live." Now the man, seeing 
that Moses cannot cure him, nor the elders, nor can he 
cure himself — convinced that this is the last resort, the 
only remedy, turns his dying eyes upon the brazen ser- 
pent, and springing up, exclaims, "Glory be to God, I am 
cured ! I am a sound man ! Now, says the Saviour, "As 
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so 



282 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believ- 
eth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." And 
this falls in with another passage of Scripture : " Look 
unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I 
am God, and there is none else." Yes, my brethren, a 
crucified Saviour is the sinner's only hope. One look of 
faith at this bleeding victim, and you are converted ! One 
look of faith, and your sins are all forgiven ! Aye, one 
look of faith at this great atoning sacrifice, and the uni- 
verse is changed in relation to you, and over you there 
are shoutings in the heavenly world — "The dead is alive 
again, and the lost is found." But you say, perhaps, that 
you do not understand what is meant by this look ; I will 
give an illustration. Here is a stripling; a strong man 
has seized upon him, and threatens to take his life. The 
stripling cannot cope with this strong man; he wants his 
father, who is a stronger man, to come to his relief. He 
looks, and sees his father in the distance. You can un- 
derstand that look. Only cast such a look toward the 
blessed Saviour, and so sure as the Bible is true, you will 
reach at last the heavenly world, and there a crown of 
glory shall rest upon your head. And now remember, 
this exercise of faith in Christ is indispensably necessary. 
It forms an essential part of the business of preparation 
for heaven, for the sum and substance of all that the Bible 
says upon this subject is this: " Believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ and thou shalt be saved; but he that believeth not, 
shall be damned." And here I would remark, if you wish 
to know whether your faith is of the right kind, you must 
try it by the Bible test. To you that believe, says Peter, 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



283 



He, that is, Christ, is precious. Yes, the genuine believer 
has new views of Christ as a suitable and most precious 
Saviour. And whereas the blessed Saviour was to him 
before as a root out of a dry ground, without form or 
comeliness, he is now the rose of Sharon and the lily of 
the valley; yea, the chiefest among ten thousand, and the 
one altogether lovely; and he can enter into the feelings 
of the poet, who says: 

" O, could I speak the matchless worth ; 
O, could I sound the glories forth 

Which in my Saviour shine i 
I'd soar and touch the heavenly strings, 
And vie with Gabriel, while he sings, 
In notes almost divine." 

These things being so, if there be any who love not the 
Lord Jesus, who have never felt their need of him — in 
other words, who have never received him in the arms of 
a confiding and appropriating faith, let all such know that 
they have neglected an essential part of the great business 
which they must attend to in this world, or never enter 
heaven. However active and industrious they may be in 
relation to the things of this world, they have neglected 
the great concern, and must be enrolled amongst the 
spiritually idle, and to them I would say, "Why stand ye 
here all the day idle?" But this leads me 

II. To point out those who have probably reached the 
eleventh hour. It is well known that the Jews, in ancient 
times, divided their day into twelve hours. The third 
hour being about nine o'clock; the sixth, noon; the ninth, 
about three o'clock, p. m.; and of course the eleventh hour 



284 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

was near the closing of the day. If we may be permitted 
to make a corresponding division of the day of grace, 
doubtless there are some present who have reached the 
third hour, some the sixth, some the ninth, and some the 
eleventh hour. We cannot say who have positively 
reached either of these periods, but we wish to point out 
those who have probably readied the last, the eleventh 
hour. 

I. Those advanced in age. This is a clear case, for 
their hoary locks, their increasing infirmities, and the 
dimness passing over their eyes plainly show that with 
them the third hour is gone, the sixth hour is passed, 
even the ninth hour is rolled away, and the eleventh hour 
is come. Aged sinner, your sun is near its setting, the 
shadows of evening are lengthening around you, your 
eleventh hour is come ! Have you never yet entered the 
vineyard? O how much precious time have you wasted! 
How very long you have been perilling the salvation of 
your soul ! And are you still neglecting the great busi- 
ness, the grand concern ? O how criminal and dangerous 
is this neglect! "Why stand ye here all the day idle?" 
But— 

2. Those whose health is failing have also probably 
reached the eleventh hour I know very well, that dis- 
eases are not always the immediate harbingers of death, 
but frequently they are. Our Siviour, it is true, said of 
a Lazarus, when he was sick, This sickness is not unto 
death ; but who can approach any one on earth, whose 
health is now impaired, and use that language? Ah i 
could we look into the rolls of heaven, and know the 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



285 



number of months appointed unto them, we would per- 
haps have to say, at least of some of them, as the prophet 
said of Benhadad when he was sick, " The Lord hath 
showed me that thou shalt surely die !" There may be a 
fever just beginning to revel in the veins, that is to land 
this one in the house appointed for all living I And there 
may be a slight cold now falling upon the lungs which is 
to wrap that one in the winding-sheet before many more 
months shall have rolled away! The healthful may die, 
and suddenly too, but those whose health is impaired 
seem to be already summoned! "Why stand ye here all 
the day idle ?" 

In casting my eye over this large congregation, I see 
many who are in the morning of life, and many too, who, 
although not young, are nevertheless in strong and vigor- 
ous health, and they may be flattering themselves with 
the idea that it is quite early in the day with them yet. 
If the third hour is gone, surely it is not beyond the 
sixth, or at the utmost the ninth hour ! My dear breth- 
ren, be not too confident in this matter. Where is your 
graveyard ! Let us pay it a brief visit. Ah ! what do 
we there see? Long graves and short graves, and graves 
of every kind! Yes, there hoary age and beardless youth 
sleep side by side ! Suppose all in this sanctuary should 
now withdraw, and all the dead in the neighboring grave- 
yards should rise up out of their graves, and, wrapped in 
their winding-sheets, should fill this house, what kind of 
a congregation, in relation to age, would it be ? Very 
much, I suspect, like the present assembly. Here we 
might see some patriarchal man, with his locks silvery 



286 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



with age ; there a venerable matron, far advanced in tne 
vale of life; here we might see a youthful husband, and 
there the wife of his youth. In another part of the 
church we might see a promising son, just ripening into 
manhood ; and there a daughter, and a lovely one, just 
turned of sixteen ; whilst in that pew we might see a 
child, the pride of doating parents; and there a sweet 
little babe, whom angels sung to rest ! And here, too, 
where I stand, we might see a Rodgers or a Wesley, 
bending under the load of age — or a Spencer or a 
Larned, vigorous in youthful days. 

Ah! my brethren, the congregation of the dead is very 
much like the congregation of the living. It embraces 
persons of every age and every sex. Young men and 
maidens, old men and children, they all do lie down 
together in the dust, and the worms do cover them. 
Suppose, then, you are in good health, and even young; 
you are not sure, you cannot be, that your eleventh hour 
has not yet come. Whilst with some the period of life 
on earth is long and extended as a summer's day, with 
others it is short and contracted as a day in mid-winter. 
Sometimes the sun of life goes down at noon, and some- 
times even whilst the dew is yet upon the ground. And 
whilst in some cases life gradually fades away, as the 
fleecy cloud which imperceptibly melts away on the azure 
sky, sometimes it vanishes like the meteor, which for a 
few moments plays along the edge of a tempest, and then 
is gone. O how uncertain is life ! We may compute the 
length of any natural day,jDut we cannot tell the length 
of any day of life. We can tell the very minute when 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 287 

yonder sun will set, but we cannot tell the hour, nor the 
month, nor the year, when the sun of life will go down ; 
hence the language of the Saviour, " Be ye also ready, 
for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man 
cometh." Then be not too sure that your eleventh hour 
has not arrived. But suppose you knew precisely when 
your life on earth would terminate. Suppose it were 
reduced to a certainty that you should attain three- 
score years and ten; even in that case you could not say 
that your eleventh hour has not arrived. And here I 
now bring forward one of the most awful doctrines found 
in all the sacred volume. It is this — that the day of 
grace is not always as long as the day of life. "My 
Spirit," says God, " shall not always strive with man." 
"Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him alone." Paul 
speaks of some who were given over to a hard heart 
and a reprobate mind ; and with regard to others he 
says, "God shall send them strong delusion, that they 
should believe a- lie: that they all might be damned 
who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unright- 
eousness." 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12. The idea is this: that 
some, on account of their sins, are judicially hardened. 
Having grieved the Spirit, he takes his departure ; and 
left to themselves, they become incorrigible, past feeling, 
and past hope. But how shall we find out when their 
day of grace is drawing to a close ? As there are cer- 
tain symptoms which indicate the closing of the natural 
day, even so there are certain symptoms which, to say 
the least, seem to give awful indications that the day of 
grace is drawing to a close. We do not pretend to decide 



288 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



upon any individual case. We make general remarks, 
and we do it to sound a seasonable alarm in the ears of 
those who are still idle, although they have too much 
reason to fear that their day of grace is winding up. 

(l.) When the natural day is drawing to a close, the 
heat abates, and the chilling influence of approaching 
night is felt. Even so, when the day of grace is drawing 
to a close, the warmth of religious feeling subsides, and 
the chilling, freezing, deadening influence of sin comes 
over the soul. O, if there are any present who were once 
excited on the subject of religion ; who, at some past 
period, when they mused upon their lost condition had 
the fire to burn within, but have now a cold heart, and 
have lost all concern about their future salvation, they 
have awful reason to fear that they have grieved the 
Spirit, and that he is now leaving them, it may be for- 
ever ! Yes, if after having been blessed with awakening 
influences, their hearts have become cold and worldly 
minded, they have now but too much reason to fear that 
with them the third hour is gone; — the sixth hour is gone 
— the ninth hour rolled away — and that the eleventh hour 
is come ! "Why stand ye here all the day idle?" 

(2.) When the natural day is drawing to a close, light 
diminishes and darkness begins to steal over the face of 
creation. Thus, about the eleventh hour of the day of 
grace, spiritual light grows dim, and judicial darkness 
thickens upon the soul. The illuminations of the Divine 
Spirit frequently issue in the sound conversion of the 
soul unto God; sometimes, however, they do not. They 
make visible the straight gate and narrow way> but being 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



289 



resisted, the sinner, after all, is left to perish in his sin. 
This is truly an awful case, for, according to the apostle 
Peter, it were better not to have known the way of life, 
than, after we have known it, to turn from the holy com- 
mandment. Yes, it were better never to have had the 
illuminations of the Spirit, than after we have had them, 
to have the shades of spiritual death to fall upon 
the soul; for, in addition to other sins laid to the 
charge of such persons, they will have to answer for 
quenching the Spirit. Are there not some present 
who can recollect the time when they had comparatively 
clear views of the value of the soul, the importance of 
religion, and the necessity of the Saviour? How is it 
now? Have these things faded upon the view? Are 
they in a great measure hidden from their eyes? Alas! 
their case is an alarming one. They have reason to fear 
that their day of grace is drawing to a close ! — that the 
third hour is gone — and the sixth hour gone — and the 
ninth hour is also rolled away — and that the eleventh 
hour is come! O, ye loiterers! ye who are procrasti- 
nating and putting off to some future period the claims of 
God and eternity, you have much reason to wake up and 
bestir yourselves, for your sun seems indeed to be going 
down, and the shadows of evening lengthening around 
you. "Why stand ye here all the day idle?'* 

(3.) Once more. — When the natural day is drawing to 
a close, laborers are becoming weary of labor, and are 
more disposed to sit down, lie down, and slumber and 
sleep, than to toil and labor any more. Just so it is 
with the spiritual idler about the close of the day of 



290 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



grace. Sometimes persons, during revivals, and at other 
times too, when under awakening influences, are greatly 
roused ; take a lively interest in religiousmatters ; set a 
great value upon all the means of grace; are willing, 
if necessary, to walk many miles to church, and that 
through rain, through mud and mire; and are willing, 
moreover, to be personally conversed with on the subject 
of religion. After awhile, however, these persons begin 
to lose their interest in all such matters ; begin to absent 
themselves from the house of God ; complain that the 
sermon is too long, and the preacher too plain ; and, like 
certain ones in the times of Amos the prophet, are ready 
to say of the Sabbath, O what a weariness it is ! When 
will the Sabbath be gone, that we may sell corn and set 
forth wheat ? Amos viii. 5. Moreover, if a pious friend 
speaks to them on the subject of religion, they have no 
relish for such conversation, and are ready to say, " Let 
me alone!" Alas! the case is clear ! such have grieved 
the Spirit of God; he is withdrawing his quickening 
influences, and the consequence is, religion is becoming 
irksome, and all its duties tiresome ; and having lost the 
interest which they once felt in religious matters, they 
would now much rather lie down in spiritual sloth, and 
slumber and sleep in carnal security, than labor to enter 
into the promised land. Are there any in this house 
whom this picture suits? I solemnly declare I would 
not be in their case for a thousand worlds, for they have 
awful reason to fear that the shades of night are gathering 
around them, even the shades of that "long, dark, dark 
night, which has no morn beyond it, and no star." O, it 



. 4P 

IDLENESS REPROVED. 29 1 

is a dreadful thing to be abandoned of the Spirit, and to 
be given over to a hard heart and a reprobate mind! And 
yet there is such a thing as the day of grace closing 
before death comes. How awful the thought! Whilst 
the sinner is in the midst of his sins, and in the 
midst of health, too, the sentence may go forth against 
him — "Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him alone;" 
and then, although yet on earth, he is sealed over to 
wrath. Passing along the road, you look over the fence 
and see an old' field ; the trees, cut down, are lying upon 
the ground, and rotting there. This may represent the 
sinner, cut down by the hand of death, his body laid in 
the grave, and his soul sunk deeper than the grave. 
Passing along, you see another old field. The trees are 
not cut down, it is true, but none are alive : although 
standing, they are all dead. Their branches are dry, and 
there is no foliage there. How is this ? The axeman 
has girdled them ; the showers descend and the winds of 
heaven pass over them; their branches rattle in the 
breeze, but there is no verdure, no foliage any more. O, 
procrastinating sinner! remember, God may girdle you 
this day; and should he do it, I tell you the truth, it will 
be all over with you forever. Hence this language of 
Scripture, " Woe also to them when I depart from them," 
saith the Lord. Hosea ix. 12. In such a case, all the 
moral and religious sensibilities of the soul are deadened. 
The heart becomes }ike rock, like adamant. As the 
dead man feels not the burning of the coal lodged in his 
bosom, and as the flinty rock feels not the softening influ- 
ences of the showers of heaven, so it is with the sinner 



292 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



when his day of grace is brought to a close. He is past 
feeling and past hope. Have any persons present, then, 
any reason whatever to believe that the eleventh hour is 
come with them ? Surely it is high time for them to 
wake up ; to enter the vineyard, and diligently to pre- 
pare for a better world. "Why stand ye here all the day 
idle ?" 

Having pointed out those who are spiritually idle, and 
those who have probably reached the eleventh hour, suf- 
fer me now to expostulate and conclude. O, ye who 
have neglected the great concern, and have suffered so 
much of your day of grace to pass away unimproved, 
"why stand ye here all the day idle?" What reason can 
you give? Have you no souls? Or is it a matter of no 
consequence to you whether they be happy or miserable, 
saved or damned, in the world to come? Have you 
spent the third, sixth, and ninth hour in idleness, and will 
you spend in the same way the eleventh also ? What I 
this little remnant of the day of grace, which, through 
mercy, yet remains to you, will you spend that in idleness 
also ? Will you approve of this upon a dying bed ? 
Will you justify it amid the thunders of the last great 
day ? O, tell me, then, " Why stand ye here all the day 
idle?" 

a Do you say that no one has invited you ? What ! no 
pious friend, no mother, no sister, no companion, no min- 
ister, no man of God ? Can you say this ? My brother, 
beloved pastor of this church, have you never invited 
them ? O yes, I am sure you have, most affectionately 
and most earnestly, and may I not almost add, times and 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



293 



ways without number ! Can you not recollect, my 
friends, how on such an occasion this man of God entered 
the sacred desk, having unusual solemnity depicted in his 
countenance. You recollect he took his text, and rea- 
soned concerning righteousness, temperance, and a judg- 
ment to come. As he proceeded he waxed warm; he filled 
his mouth with arguments ; he brought the high claims 
of God and eternity to bear powerfully upon the under- 
standing, the conscience, and the heart. And what was 
this ? It was my brother's plan of inviting you to enter 
into the vineyard ; and when he saw that you were un- 
affected, the man of God wept! O how sacred are the 
tears of the faithful and affectionate pastor, weeping over 
those of his charge who refuse to attend to the great con- 
cern J It is the spirit of the prophet, who said, If ye will 
not hear, my soul shall weep in secret places for your 
pride. Yea, it is the Spirit of the blessed Jesus himself, 
who beheld the city and wept over it, saying, "If thou 
hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the 
things which make for thy peace, but now they are hid- 
den from thine eyes." But to proceed: When my 
brother saw that his reasonings were not regarded, and 
that his arguments produced no impression, you recollect 
he changed his voice, and, so to speak, taking you by the 
hand, he led you to the gate of the celestial city, and 
pointing out the glories and the joys of that happy world, 
and that you might finally have a happy entrance there, 
he urged you to attend to the great concern. And when 
he saw you still careless, again the man of God wept! 
What a loud call was this from your beloved pastor, to 



294 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



enter into the vineyard ? But this was not all : when he 
saw you careless still, he was ready to give up and retire 
in despondency : but the thought of the value of your 
precious souls, and his own responsibility, roused him to 
make yet another effort. In his description, he led you 
to the borders of the pit ; he drew aside the curtain ; he 
pointed out to you the world of wo, and caused you to 
hear, as it were, the wailings of those who had lost their 
day, and were now crying out in anguish, "The harvest 
is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." 
And what was this, but another effort of my brother to 
arouse you, and to press you to enter into the vineyard ? 
What ! no one invited you ? Yes, methinks your pious 
father did ; and it was in a solemn hour ! It was on a 
dying bed ! Some one told you that your father was 
very ill, and wished to see you. You trembled, and has- 
tened to obey the summons ; with solemn feelings you 
entered the door of his chamber. The curtains were 
down, the room was darkened ! Silence and grief 
reigned there ! Silence, still as the grave, except broken 
by the light footsteps of those who passed gently over 
the carpeted floor ; or the low whisperings of those who 
marked the sad symptoms of approaching death; or, per- 
chance, broken by the hard breathing of the one 
who was now drawing near his end i With a trembling 
heart, you approached the bedside of your dying parent. 
He saw you, and took you by the hand. His hand was 
cold as clay, and the sweat of death was upon his pale 
brow. He pressed your hand, and looked you in the 
face. Can you ever forget that look ? It spoke volumes! 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



295 



He wished to speak, but he was very feeble— again he 
pressed your hand, and said, " God bless you, my child ! 
Meet me in heaven J" Then, looking up, he said, * Pre- 
cious Saviour, I am ready now ! Come, Lord Jesus ! 
come quickly !" And while you were looking on, he 
ceased to breathe, and was with his God ! And was this 
no call ? O yes, you have received a call from the very 
threshold of heaven — aye, and from one who loved you, 
and longed to meet you in that happy world. How can 
you, then, say that no one has invited you ? " Why 
stand ye here all the day idle ?" 

Do you say that the work is too great ? I know it is 
too great for your unaided strength, but you may obtain 
strength from on high. Yes, there is a power divine, which 
stands ready to afford all needful aid. This power has suf- 
ficed for many. It may suffice for you. There is not a 
want in the sinner, but there is a corresponding fulness in 
the blessed Saviour. Fear not, says this heavenly Friend to 
the trembling soul — fear not, I will help thee, I will 
strengthen thee, yea, I will uphold thee by the right hand 
of my righteousness. 

Perhaps you think the work is so easy it may be ac- 
complished at any time, even in your last moments. To 
be sure it might, if God should then give you grace. 
But are you sure that he will ? Is it likely ? When you 
have given the best of your days to the service of the 
devil, is it reasonable to suppose that God will accept of 
the dregs? O, how many a poor sinner is snatched away 
without warning. How many go delirious to their graves; 
and how many, if not delirious, are racked with pain, 



296 



REVIVAL SERMONS* 



How many are stupid; how many are too feeble to Dear 
any excitement; and how many are purely under the 
influence of fear. O how unwise, and O how perilous it 
is to put off to the last moment that which should engage 
our first and most serious concern ! I could tell you of 
some death-bed scenes, but I spare you. "Why stand ye 
here all the day idle?" 

Do you say that the householder is not willing to 
receive you? "Say unto them, as I live, said the Lord 
God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but 
that he turn and live. Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye 
die, O house of Israel ?" Say not then that the house- 
holder is not willing to receive you; at least say it not 
until with all your heart you have entreated his favor 
and he has frowned you away. 

Do you say that the reward is not enough? What! to 
have our sins forgiven, is this nothing? to have our peace 
made with heaven, is this nothing? and to be adopted into 
the family of the Great God, is this nothing ? the reward 
not enough! What! when we are about to die, to find 
ourselves under the shadow of the Almighty — is this 
nothing? To find ourselves encircled in the arms of ever- 
lasting love — is this nothing ? To find ourselves encom- 
passed by angels, and just on the wing for glory — is this 
nothing ? And when the soul is dislodged from its 
earthly tenement, to be carried by angels into Abraham's 
bosom, to hear the plaudit, " Well done, good and faith- 
ful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord ;" to see 
the King in his beauty ; to be robed and crowned, and 
emparadised in heaven ; and to be associated with the 



IDLENESS REPROVED. 



297 



spirits of the just made perfect, and to live and reign with 
Christ in glory everlasting — is all this nothing ? O, my 
brethren, the rewards are the rewards of grace, they are 
the purchase of a Saviour's blood, and therefore will be 
rich and great beyond all the power of language to ex- 
press, or the heart of man to conceive. Immortal man ! 
lose not the prize held up before you ! Be up and a-do- 
ing ! " Why stand ye here all the day idle ?" O think 
how much is at stake — even your own soul — your own 
precious soul ! O who can tell its value ! Suppose this 
world were a globe of gold, and each star in yonder fir- 
mament a jewel of the first order, and the moon a dia- 
mond, and the sun literally a crown of all created glory 
— one soul, in value, would outweigh them all. Here is 
a man standing on board of a vessel at sea, holding his 
hands over the sides of the vessel ; he is sporting with a 
jewel worth a hundred thousand dollars, and which, too, 
is all his fortune. Playing with his jewel, he throws it 
up, and catches it — throws it up and catches it! A friend, 
noticing the brilliancy of the jewel, warns him of the dan- 
ger of losing it, and tells him that if it slip through his 
fingers it goes down to the bottom of the deep, and can 
be recovered no more. " O, there is no danger," says he, 
" I have been doing this a long time, and you see I have 
not lost it yet." Again he throws it up, and — it is gone! 
past recovery — gone ! O, when the man finds that his 
jewel is indeed lost, and by his own folly lost, who can 
describe his agony, as he exclaims, " I have lost my 
jewel, my fortune, my all!" 0 sinner, hear me; casketed 
in your bosom, you have a jewel of infinitely greater 



298 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



value ; in idling away your precious time, you are in 
danger of losing that pearl of price unknown. In othet 
words, neglecting the interests of your precious soul, you 
are in danger of being lost forever. O, why neglect any 
longer the great concern ? Many of your dearest friends 
are in the vineyard, why linger you without? "Why 
stand ye here all the day idle ?" 

Well, the evening will come when the Lord of the 
vineyard will say to his steward — " Call the laborers and 
give them their hire/' O glorious hour! O, sweet coro- 
nation day ? How will the laborers come ! From the 
east and from the west, from the north and from the - 
south. Millions crowding upon millions! Christians of 
every communion, and the pious from out of every nation 
under heaven. With what joy will they come around 
the heavenly Householder, and at his hand receive the 
high rewards of grace. Methinks with a smile he will 
reach out to them the crown — the glittering crown ; 
and they will take the crown — the glittering crown, and 
sing and shout, " O to grace how great a debtor !" And 
he will give the robe — the spotless robe; and they will 
take the robe — the spotless robe, and sing and shout, "O 
to grace how great a debtor !" And now all heaven 
rings jubilee, as the ransomed of the Lord return and 
come to this heavenly Zion, with songs and everlasting 
joy upon their heads. But the idlers ! — those who all 
their lives long neglected the great concern, who died 
without repentance and without faith — where are they? 
Alas! they are far away! There is no robe for them, no 
crown for them, no heaven for them ! They have lost 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



299 



their day, and they have lost their souls ; and now noth- 
ing remains for them but thrilling remorse and black 
despair ! O, my procrastinating friends, you have one 
call more ; it may be the call of the eleventh hour, and 
your last! Surely it is high time to think about eternity; 
it is high time to enter into the vineyard; then "Why 
stand ye here all the day idle ?" 



SERMON XIII. 

THE NECESSITY OF PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 
The night oometh, when no man can work.— John Ix. 4. 

These solemn words were uttered by our blessed 
Saviour, who spake as never man spake. The whole 
verse reads thus : " I must work the works of him that 
sent me, while it is day; the night cometh, when no man 
can work." Our Saviour speaks here in his mediatorial 
character, and has reference to his mediatorial work. 
When this blessed legate from the skies came into our 
world, it was upon a specific errand; it was to accomplish 
a great work, a blessed work, a work of love and recon- 
ciliation. It was to accomplish the mighty work of 
man's redemption. And upon this his heart was ever set. 
See him in Jerusalem, when only twelve years of age, 
sitting with the doctors in the temple, both hearing 
them and asking them questions. His mother, who had 
been seeking him with anxiety for three days, said unto 



300 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



him, " Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us ? Behold, 
thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." And 
what was his reply? "How is it that ye sought me? 
Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business ?" 
See him at the well of Sychar, whilst instructing the 
woman of Samaria. " His disciples prayed him, saying, 
Master, eat. And he said unto them, I have meat to eat, 
that ye know not of." And when they asked, "Hath any 
man brought him aught to eat ? he answered and said 
unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, 
and to finish his work." And here, in the case before 
us, notice his language, " I must work the works of him 
that sent me, while it is day ; the night cometh, when no 
man can work." 

When the time of his departure was arrived, he could 
say, and did say, " Father, I have glorified thy name on 
the earth ; I have finished the work which thou gavest 
me to do." In making an application to ourselves of the 
passage before us, I would call your attention to the fol- 
lowing propositions : 

I. We, also, have on earth a work to perform. 

II. There is a day or season given us, in which to per- 
form this work ; and 

III. When that day or season is ended, then the night 
cometh, in which no man can work. 

I. We, also, have on earth a work to perform. This 
we would state in the language of the prophet, " Prepare 
to meet thy God." That there is a God, all nature cries 
aloud. Now, this God, as revealed to us in the Scrip- 
tures, is a great God. Heaven is his throne, and the 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



earth is his footstool. He fills immensity with his pre- 
sence. With him all space is as a point, all duration as a 
moment. Clothed with omnipotent power, he can do all 
his pleasure in the armies of heaven, and amongst the in- 
habitants of the earth. "He can create, and he destroy;" 
yea, " can dash whole worlds to death, and make them 
when he please." Moreover, he is a holy God. The very 
seraphims veil their faces in his presence, and cry, in notes 
responsive to each other, " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord 
of hosts." This is the Being whom Isaiah saw, in the 
year that king Uzziah died, sitting upon a throne, high 
and lifted up ; and it was in the view of his immaculate 
purity that the astounded prophet cried out, " Wo is me, 
for I am undone ; for I am a man of unclean lips ; and I 
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips ; for mine 
eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts !" Now, this 
God, so great and so holy, we must meet. We must 
meet him in the hour of death, for we are expressly told 
that then the dust shall return to the earth, as it was, 
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. And 
this great and holy God we must meet also in the resur- 
rection, in the last day. " And I saw," says John, " a 
great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose 
face the heavens and the earth fled away, and there was 
no place for them ; and I saw the dead, small and great, 
stand before God: and the books were opened: and 
another book was opened, which is the book of life ; 
And the dead were judged out of those things which 
were written in the books." And this may remind us 
of the language of Paul, " We must all appear before the 



302 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



judgment-seat of Christ, that we may receive according to 
the deeds done in the body, whether they have been g ad 
or whether they have been evil." 

My next remark is this : By nature, or in an unregen- 
srate state, we are not prepared to meet God, for he is 
holy and just; he cannot look upon sin with allowance; 
and alas ! the best of us are sinners, great sinners in his 
sight, altogether unclean, and utterly unfit to appear be- 
fore him in judgment. And most terrible will be our 
doom, if in the great day of judgment we should be 
weighed and found wanting? Hence our duty, as present- 
5d in the words of the prophet : " Prepare to meet thy 
God." And here permit me to say, two things are essen- 
tially requisite — first, justifying righteousness; and sec- 
ondly, sanctifying grace. 

With regard to the first, the state of the case is this : 
God has given man a law, armed with penal sanctions. 
This law man has broken. Of course, he has incurred 
the penalty; this penalty is death. Satisfaction must be 
made, or the sinner must perish: for the law thunders 
out " indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon 
every soul of man that sinneth." The sinner himself can 
make no satisfaction, for his sins are many, and his best 
works have, in the sight of God, no merit. Hence it is 
written, "By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justi- 
fied in his sight." But now comes in Heaven's plan of 
justification by the righteousness of another, even of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, who has made the great atonement ; 
having borne our sins in his own body upon the tree, and 
having thus, according to the Scriptures, made an end of 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



303 



transgression, and brought in everlasting righteousness* 
The Bible is full ot this: "There is now, therefore, no con- 
demnation," says Paul, "to them which are in Christ Je- 
sus," And again, " Being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." And again, 
" Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every 
one that believeth." This righteousness, according to the 
Scriptures, meets all the demands of the law ; and arrayed 
in this righteousness, 

"God will pronounce the sinner just, 
And take the saint to heaven." 

Blessed expedient of heavenly wisdom ! This is the rain- 
bow upon the body of the dark cloud; here we have the 
only star of hope rising upon a ruined world. But how 
are we to lay hold upon this justifying righteousness, how 
?. to make it ours ? By faith ; as it is written, 

" I just shall live by faith." And again, " Believe in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Yes, it 
is this fa;.tj? t , -'his precious faith, which unites us to Christ 
in om . <ial calling ; and it is this which guarantees 
ansd our acceptance in the great day. Hear 
tiie words ol the Saviour himself: "As Moses lifted up 
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of 
man be lifted up ; that whosoever believeth in him might 
not perish, but have eternal life ; " and that the matter 
may be made, if possible, more sure, the Saviour comes 
- same ground in the very next verse: "For God 
Dved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but 



3<H 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



have everlasting life." If, then, we would prepare to meet 
God in peace, we must fall in with Heaven's plan ; we 
must accept of the Saviour provided ; we must cordially 
receive him, with all the overflowings of a penitent and 
believing heart; and thus clothed upon with the robes 
of his righteousness — or, as it is elsewhere expressed, hav- 
ing our robes washed and made white in his blood, we 
shall stand justified in the sight of God, and have no rea- 
son to fear the thunders of the last great day. Thanks be 
to God for his unspeakable gift ! O, what would we do 
without a precious, all-atoning Saviour! 

But, although this righteousness of Christ will avail to 
meet all the demands of the law and justice of God, yet, 
in order that we may be prepared to enjoy the smiles of 
God and the bliss of heaven, another thing is requisite — 
even sanctifying grace. Can a blind man enjoy the beau- 
ties of a flower garden? can a deaf man the music of the 
grove? or a sick man the pleasures of a banquet? No 
more can the sinner, without sanctifying grace, have any 
taste or relish for the employments and enjoyments of 
the heavenly world. There must be a work of the Spirit, 
renovating and cleansing the heart ; in other words, there 
must be what the Scriptures denominate the washing of 
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, in order to 
qualify us for heaven. Everything is holy there ! The 
angels are holy, the redeemed are holy, and He who fills 
the throne is the thrice holy Lord God Almighty — holi- 
ness is the very element in which all who worship God in 
heaven do live, and move, and have their being; and our 
souls must be adapted to that element, or we could not 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



305 



be happy there. I do believe that the sinner unrenewed 
would be miserable even within the precincts of eternal 
day; hence the language, the remarkable language of the 
Saviour, " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." Observe, he does not say, will not, 
must not, shall not, but cannot. There is an impossibil- 
ity in the very nature of the case. The blind man must 
have his eyes opened, or he cannot enjoy the beauties of 
the flower garden; the deaf man must have his ears un- 
stopped, or he cannot enjoy the music of the grove; the 
sick man must be restored to health, or he cannot en- 
joy the pleasures of the banquet. Even so the sinner 
must have his heart changed, or, I repeat it, he cuuld not 
be happy even in heaven. He cannot enjoy the beauties 
of heaven, for he is spiritually blind ; he cannot enjoy the 
music of heaven, for he is spiritually deaf; nor can he en- 
joy the pleasure of heaven, for he is spiritually sick. The 
carnal mind is enmity against God, says the apostle; it is 
not subject to his law, neither indeed can be. How then 
can he who has his carnal mind (and this is the case of 
every unregenerate man) be happy in the divine pre- 
sence ? How can he be pleased with the songs of praise 
which are ever ascending ? How can he be pleased in 
contemplating the perfections of one whom he loves not? 
How can he be pleased with that society for which he 
has no taste, or those employments for which he has no 
relish? The soaring eagle may gaze with delight upon 
the brilliant sun, but the bird of night chooses not to 
look, even for a moment, upon that brilliant sun, nor would 
any man whose eyes are diseased. Alas ! the unrenewed 



30t> 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



sinner is diseased in every part, and therefore, in his unre- 
newed state he is not fit for heaven. 

" Our nature's totally depraved, 
The heart a sink of sin ; 
"Without a change we can't be saved, 
* Ye must be born again.' " 

And is there no hope for the sinner? Thank God, 
there is balm in Gilead! — There is a Physician there! He 
who, by his blood, can wash away the foulest stain of 
guilt, can, by his Spirit, cleanse the vilest heart; can slay 
the enmity within, yea, can sanctify us throughout, in 
soul, body, and spirit, and make us, as the apostle ex- 
presses it, " meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the 
saints in light." How beautiful is this language ! — Jesus 
Christ, made of God unto us, wisdom and righteousness, 
and sanctification, and redemption : — what a glorious, all- 
sufficient Saviour! There is not a want in us, but there 
is a corresponding fulness in him. As it is written, " It 
pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell." 
Let those, then, who wish to meet God in peace in the 
last great day, now come to Christ, who is declared to be 
the way, the truth and the life — or the true and living 
way. He is the only Mediator — he is our only hope ; 
and, verily, no man cometh unto the Father but by him. 
Think of this, and prepare to meet your God ! 

II. There is a day or season given to us in this world, 
in which to attend to this matter. We are told that on 
the shores of the Black Sea, the winds of heaven are held 
in check some eighteen or twenty days every year, that 
the little halcyon birds may have an opportunity of mak- 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 307 

ing their nests and hatching their young, on the smooth 
surface of the water. Be that as it may, we know that, to 
answer important purposes, there is seed-time and harvest, 
cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night ; 
moreover, Solomon says, To everything there is a season, 
and a time to every purpose under heaven : a time to be 
born and a time to die ; a time to plant and a time to pluck 
up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to 
heal ; a time to break down, and a time to build up ; a 
time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a 
time to dance ; a time to cast away stones and a time to 
gather stones together ; a time to embrace and a time to 
refrain from embracing ; a time to get and a time to lose; 
a time to keep and a time to cast away ; a time to rend 
and a time to sew ; a time to keep silence and a time to 
speak ; a time to love and a time to hate; a time of war 
and a time of peace. Now, if time be given to attend to 
matters which relate to the body, shall not a time also be 
given to attend to matters which relate to the soul ; if to 
matters of time, why not to matters of eternity? There 
is such a season. With regard to the antediluvians, the 
Spirit of God waited with them forty years whilst Noah 
was building the ark; and you may remember what was 
said of the Jews in the wilderness : Forty years long was 
I grieved with that generation, so I swore in my wrath 
that they should not enter into my rest. And in relation 
to the case of Jezebel, the faithful and true witness says, 
" I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she 
repented not." And now, if time was granted to others, 
in years gone by, why not to those of the present day ? 



308 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



But here permit me to remark, first, This time is short. 
In comparison with the ages of eternity, it is short, and 
even in comparison with the ages beyond the flood. But, 
viewed in any aspect, it is short; for Job says, " Man that 
is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble; he 
cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down ; he fleeth 
also as a shadow, and continueth not." And again, it is 
written, "Thou hast made my days as an hand-breadth, 
and my age is as nothing before thee." And what says 
James? "What is your life? Is it not even as a vapor 
which appeareth for a little, and then vanisheth away ?" 
But the language of Paul is directly to the point: "This 
I say, brethren, the time is short. It remaineth that they 
that weep be as they that wept not ; and they that rejoice 
as they that rejoiced not; for the fashion of the world 
passeth away." Yes, human life is very short. Where 
are our fathers? And the prophets, do they live for- 
ever? How many of the companions of our childhood 
are now sleeping in the grave ? And if we look into our 
own domestic circle, or at our communion rolls, how 
many with whom we once associated have already gone 
the way of all the earth ! Ah, my brethren, it is even so : 

«Our life is ever on the wing, 
And death is ever nigh ; 
The moment when our lives begin, 
We all begin to die/' 

Yes, we are here to-day, and perhaps gone to-morrow ! 
But this leads me to make a second remark — Our time on 
earth is not only short, it is uncertain. We know not 
how we shall die, nor where we shall die, nor when we 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



309 



shall die. We can tell how long any day in the year will 
last, but who can tell how long the life of any man will 
last? We can tell the very moment the natural sun will 
set, but who can tell the day or the year when his sun 
of life will go down? Sometimes it is like a midsummer's 
day, comparatively long; sometimes like a midsummer's 
night, comparatively short. Sometimes it is like the 
fleecy cloud, which gradually fades away in the blue sky 
— sometimes like the meteor playing upon the edge of a 
dark cloud. One moment it is bright and coruscating — 
the next moment it is gone ! My friends, this is a seri- 
ous thought. Death frequently comes when least expect- 
ed. Sometimes no sickness heralds it. Sometimes it 
calls away the man in the prime of life, when he is in full 
strength; and sometimes the young maiden in the morn- 
ing of her days, when her cheeks are fresh and blooming. 
Sometimes it meets its victim in the sanctuary, and on 
the highway, as well as in the private dwelling and on 
the couch of repose. Nay, more, it has been known to 
visit even the theatre, the race-ground, the ball-room, and 
the bridal chamber ! We cannot think of any place, we 
cannot think of any set of circumstances, in which some 
of the human family have not fallen under the withering 
stroke of death. Hence the timely warning of the Sa- 
viour, " Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think 
not, the Son of man cometh." O that all would bear this 
in mind, and seek first the kingdom of God and his right- 
eousness. Seek it as an object of prime importance; and, 
in the first place, especially as, according to the Scrip- 
tures, there is no work, nor knowledge, nor device, nor 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



wisdom in the grave, to which are all going. The 
pious poet lias well said, 

"There are no acts of pardon passed, 
In the cold grave to which we haste; 
But darkness, death, and long despair, 
Reign in eternal silence there." 

III. But this leads us to oi i d proposition, which 
is this: — When this day or se 'ted \o us on earth 

is ended, then "the night cometh when no man can 
work." What we do, we musl do qu ckly; for upon the 
proper improvement of our tin t earth depends our 
everlasting weal or wo. Death comes, the state of the 
soul is fixed, and the curtain is drawn for ever. How 
solemn and how striking is th< u ;e of the Saviour, 
"The night cometh, when no i n can work" — the night 
of death! 

"That long, dark, dark ni^ht, 
Which has no morn beyond it, and no star." 

My brethren, what is it to die? What are the events 
of that last awful moment, when the fixed eye, the cold 
bosom, and the motionless frame, make it known that our 
friend is gone? What is death ? It is the period when 
the soul leaves the body, breaks away from everything 
here below, and enters upon the untried scenes of another 
and eternal world. In other words, it is the ending of time 
and the beginning of great eternity. 

I. When death comes, we cease to be interested in 
all the exciting scenes of earth. A new star may be dis- 
covered, and living astronomers may be all alive on the 
subject; but a Sir Isaac Newton, or a Keoler, wrapped in 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



the winding-sheet, and laid in the grave, takes no inter- 
est in this newly discovered star. Choice relics of an- 
tiquity may be brought to light, and antiquarians through- 
out the earth may, with great interest, be commenting on 
the matter ; but the antiquarian who is numbered with 
the pale nations of the dead, takes no interest in these 
newly discovered relics of antiquity. The affectionate 
wife, who, when dying, cast her last looks upon the dear 
man she loved, and said, My husband, come and kiss 
your dying wife — that wife, now laid in the dust, may 
have her husband, " the dear man she loved," brought 
and laid side by side with her in the grave, and she 
salutes not her coming husband. Aye, and even the ten- 
der mother, who, as she was sinking in the arms of death, 
said, Bring me my sweet babe, and kissed it; and said, 
God bless this child ; may this child meet its mother in 
heaven! — that mother buried, may the very next day 
have her grave opened and that child, wrapped in its 
little winding-sheet, may be brought and laid upon its 
mother's bosom in the grave, and even the tender mother 
greets not her once darling child. How deep are the 
slumbers of the dead! How undisturbed by all the pass- 
ing scenes of human life! Sure, 'tis a serious thing to 
die. What is death ? Ah me ! it is the ending of time, 
and the beginning of great eternity ! 

2. When death comes, we have done with all the pur- 
suits and callings of life. The dead ! alas ! 

" They have no share in all that's done 
Beneath the circuit of the sun." 

In death, the monarch lays down his sceptre, and as- 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



cends his throne no more. In death, the beggar drops 
his crutch, and pleads for charity no more. In death, the 
lawyer throws up his briefs, and appears for his client no 
more. In death, the warrior relinquishes his sword, and 
braves the fury of battle no more: 

" Nor song of peace, nor battle's roar, 
E'er shall break his slumbers more." 

In death, the merchant retires from his store, the me- 
chanic from his shop, the farmer from his field, the min- 
ister from the desk, the judge from the bench, the states- 
man from the cabinet — to be seen in their places no more. 
In death, the avaricious cease to accumulate treasure; 
and in death, even the hard-hearted extortioner at last 
forgets to grind the faces of the poor. It is all over now. 
In the city of the dead there are no stirs — the hum of in- 
dustry is hushed — there is no voice of mirth nor songs of 
revelry there, nor even the voice of the bridegroom or the 
bride. Deep solitude is there, and silence, how profound! 
Nahum, speaking of the utter ruin which should come 
upon Nineveh, says, "Thy shepherds slumber, O king of 
Assyria; thy nobles shall dwell in the dust." And verily 
this may be said of all whose house is the grave, and 
whose home is the city of the dead — all even the mighti- 
est, the noblest, and the best. As the prophet says, " Be- 
hold, the Lord of hosts doth take away the mighty man, 
and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, the pru- 
dent and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honor- 
able man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, 
and the eloquent orator." They all do slumber and dwell in 
the dust. " The night cometh, when no man can work." 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 313 

3. When death comes, we have done with all the 
means of grace Whilst in health, and in this happy- 
land, we h tve the means of grace in abundance and rich 
variety. At the sound of the church-going bell we can 
enter the sanctuary of our God, and hear the gospel 
preached, and gather around the sacramental board, and 
unite in the public prayer and the sweet songs of Zion. 
We can read our Bibles, and the writings of the pious of 
every land. We can enter into our closets, and meditate 
and pray to our Father who seeth in secret. We can 
attend social prayer meetings, and commune with our 
Christian friends, as did those who feared God in the days 
of Malachi. In short, we can now have free access to all 
the means of grace. But when the night of death Com- 
eth, it is all past and gone! Never shall we hear the 
sound of the church-going bell any more; never again 
enter the -sanctuary, nor hear the gospel preached, nor 
take our seats at the table of the Lord, nor join the pub- 
lic prayer, nor sing the songs of Zion, nor visit our 
closets, nor enjoy the means of grace any more. The 
time for such things with us will be past and gone for- 
ever. Alas ! th< >s are palsied, they cannot move; 
the eyes are c 3 . ey cannot see; the ears are heavy, 
they cannot hear; the tongue is dumb, it cannot speak; 
the heart is cold, it cannot fee! 

Ah, my friends, this is a very serious thought, many, 
very many in our land set no value upon the means of 
grace. They rarely ever read the Scriptures; they rarely 
ever are found in the house of God, perhaps never pray; 



3H 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



they make no use of any of the means of grace — esteem 
them of no value. But, as one has v/ell said, 

" How blessings brighten as they take their flight ! 
Like birds, whose beauties languish, half concealed, 
Till mounted on the wing, their glossy plumes 
Expanded, shine with azure, green, and gold." 

Yes, when the shades of evening are lengthening, and 
the night seems to be near at hand when no man can 
work, how do many wake up as from a troubled dream, 
and bitterly regret that they had not more highly prized 
the means of grace, which are now about to be taken 
from them forever. " O, if I could but live my life over 
again, how differently would I act from what I have 
done!" It was in this spirit that one exclaimed in the near 
view of death — " I have lost a world of time, and if I 
could live my life over, I would spend it all in reading 
David's Psalms and Paul's Epistles." " O, for. one Sab- 
bath more — one sermon more!" This has, in substance, 
been the exclamation of more than one, upon whom the 
night of death has come, as a night of gloom and black 
despair. Remember, sinner, you may set little value 
upon the means of grace now, but believe me that the 
period will arrive when you would give worlds, if you 
had them, for another day of gospel privileges to seek 
salvation in. O that you were wise, that you understood 
this, that you would consider your latter end ! O, be 
prevailed upon to work while the day lasts, for of a truth, 
" The night cometh, when no man can work." 
, 4. When death comes, our probation closes, and our 
character, good or bad, is stamped for all eternity. Few 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



315 



thoughts can be more solemn, more awakening than this. 
We have lately entered upon an existence which shall 
never end. Our present life is 

" The bud of being, the dim dawn, 
The twilight of our day, the vestibule. 
Life's theatre as yet is shut, and Death, 
Strong Death, alone can heave the massy bar." 

And yet, upon the proper improvement of this first brief 
period of our existence depends all that shall come after ! 
Yes, our character is now in a state of formation, and 
everything we think or do exerts its influence in giving it 
shape and complexion; and when death comes, the pro- 
cess ceases, the character is stamped, and the state of the 
soul is fixed forever. "As the tree falls so it must lie;" 
"As death leaves us judgment will overtake us;" for, ac- 
cording to the Scriptures, no sooner is the silver cord 
loosed and the golden bowl broken, than the decree of 
an immutable God rolls over the shrouded form: " He 
that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, 
let him be filthy still ; and he that is righteous, let him be 
righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." 
Here is a Christian dying — his warfare is accomplished, 
his trials are ended — the time is, at least, arrived for him 
to lay down his armor, and, the battle won, to enjoy the 
repose of victory forever. Over his head hangs the 
crown, and around him are the angels of God, who are 
ready, as ministering spirits, to conduct him to his home 
in the skies! But is it a sinner breathing his last? O 
dreadful to think upon! His day of grace is ended ; the 
angel of mercy has spread its wings ; the door is shut, 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



and the gloom of an eternal night is setting upon his 
poor lost soul- — yea, demons of the pit hover around him, 
and already has he entered the vestibule of the prison- 
house of the damned ! Ah me ! to think of never having 
the star of hope lighted up any more, nor the day of 
grace renewed ! Who can bear the thought? My breth- 
ren, this is our working time ; O then let one and all be 
persuaded to work while the day lasts, knowing that "the 
night cometh when no man can work.'' 

My brethren in the ministry — I see several around 
me* — our calling is a high calling ; our work is emphat- 
ically a great work. 

" 'Tis not a cause of small import, 

A preacher's care demands, 
But what might fill an angel's heart, 
And filled a Saviour's hands." 

We are sent to arouse the thoughtless, to reclaim the 
vicious, to awaken those who are slumbering in their sins, 
and to bring wanderers home to Christ. In other words # 
we are sent forth to sound the tocsin of alarm, and to do 
what we can to save souls from going down to the pit ! 
O, how much do we need the spirit of our Master — his 
spirit of love and self-denial, his spirit of devotion and 
quenchless zeal. Brethren, let us lay out our whole 
strength in our Master's service. We are engaged in a 
great work, a blesssd work, a glorious work, and rich will 
be the reward of grace which shall be bestowed upon the 
faithful and successful minister of Christ; for thus it is 
written : " They that be wise, shall shine as the brightness 

*Thi» sermon was preached at the close of a protracted meeting. 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



317 



of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteous- 
ness, as the stars, forever and ever I" O what high re- 
wards and immortal honors await those whose ruling 
passion on earth has been love to Christ and love to 
souls; who, amid a thousand hardships and trials incident 
to their office, have been enabled to say, with Paul, 
* None of these things move me, neither count I my life 
dear to myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, 
and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Je- 
sus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." Brethren, 
with some of us " it is toward evening, and the day is far 
spent." O, how happy, if when we come to die, we may 
be able to say, with our Master, in our humble measure, 
"Father, I have glorified thee on the earth, I have fin- 
ished the work which thou gavest me to do ;" and, with 
Paul, exclaim, in the language of joy and triumph, "I am 
now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is 
at hand. I have fought a good fight; I have finished my 
course ; I have kept the faith ; henceforth is laid up for 
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- 
eous judge, will give me in that day." Brethren in the 
ministry, we may never meet on earth any more. Permit 
this parting charge from one who has been in the minis- 
try many years: Give yourselves up wholly to the blessed 
work of the ministry; your working time is an appointed 
time; therefore, work while the day lasts, "for the night 
cometh, when no man can work." 

Ruling elders, you, too, are office-bearers in the Church 
of Christ. You, too, have an important work to do, and 
Yyou are active and zealous, you may do much to save 



3i8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



souls, and build up the Church of Christ, where God has 
cast your lot. Let your language be 9 

" I love thy kingdom, Lord, a ^|^ ^ 
The house of thine abode, 
The church my bless'd Redeem -ived, 
With his oyn precious bloo& 

And, if at any time the ways of 23«^ mourn, and few 
come to her solemn feasts, say, wit> he pious captive 
Jew, by the river of Babylon, " If I for* t thee, O Jerusa- 
lem, let my right hand forget her $?»vaing: if I prefer 
thee not to my chief joy, let my tongf ■ leave to the roof 
of my mouth." Ruling elders, respe<.<ed and beloved in 
the Lord, your vows are recorded; and the eye of heaven 
is upon you ; be active as servants of Christ and office- 
bearers in his Church; work while the day lasts, for "the 
night cometh when no man can work." 

Beloved Sabbath- school teachers, you are engaged in a 
work which the angels of God themselves might delight 
in ! Be not weary in well doing, for in due season you 
shall reap, if you faint not. May the children whom you 
instruct rise up and call you blessed in the morning of 
the resurrection. Remember, the time is coming, when 
you will not be seen in the Sabbath-school room any 
more ! Work, therefore, while the day lasts, for " the 
night cometh, when no man can work." 

Parents, God has given you children, and with each 
child this charge: Take this child, and bring it up for 
me, and I will give you your wages. These children are 
your jewels; take good care of them. They have im- 
mortal souls ; see to it that you train them up in the way 
in which they should go — point them to heaven. 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



319 



"Try each tender art, reprove each dull delay; 
Allure to brighter worlds and lead the way." 

Whether you choose it or not, your precepts and exam- 
ple will exert a powerful influence in forming and stamp- 
ing the character of your children. Remember the case 
of Eli, who neglected parental duty, and reason over the 
overwhelming sorrows which came upon him in conse- 
quence thereof. For your own sake, and the sake of 
your children, see to it that you bring them up in the 
nurture and admonition of the Lord; and above all things, 
be careful to set before them a good and pious example. 
Many parents will in heaven have their children as stars in 
their crown of rejoicing. May you be of that happy 
number. Soon the time for exerting parental influence 
will be over and gone forever. Only a little while, you 
and your children too will be sleeping under the clods of 
the valley. Therefore, work while the day lasts, for "the 
night cometh, when no man can work." 

Professed disciples of Christ — you, too, have a work to 
perform. You have been brought unto the vineyard, 
some of you, perhaps, even at the eleventh hour. You 
are not to be loiterers — "Why stand ye here all the day 
idle?" Time is precious; and if your hearts are right in 
the sight of God, you may do much good in your day 
and generation. According to the Scriptures, you are to 
be a peculiar people, zealous of good works. You have 
around you many who are the enemies of the cross of 
Christ; over them you are to weep. You are to do what 
you can to reclaim the vicious, reform the intemperate, 
and bring wanderers home to Christ. Leave not this 



320 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



blessed work wholly to those who are office-bearers in 
the Church. It is the privilege of every member of the 
Church, nay, their bounden duty, "to come up to the 
help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the 
mighty." Even the humblest and the youngest are not 
excused. The Syrians, we are told, had gone out by 
companies, and had brought away captive out of the land 
of Israel a little maid, and she waited upon Naaman's 
wife ; and she said unto her mistress, " Would God, my 
lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he 
would recover him of his leprosy." Now this little cap- 
tive maid made a suggestion that issued in curing Naa- 
man, the Syrian chieftain, of his leprosy. Even so, there 
is not an individual present who may not be instrumental 
in doing good, much good. There are energies in the 
bosom of the Church, but alas ! those energies are slum- 
bering. O, if every member of the Church would but be as 
zealous and active as they should be- — if every talent were 
laid out for the glory of God, how great would be the 
result! It would be seen in the enlargement of the 
Church and the correction of a thousand evils. 

My dear Christian brethren, suffer a word of exhorta- 
tion. According to the Scriptures, you are not your own ; 
you have been bought with a price — and only think, with 
the precious blood of God's dear Son! Have you not, 
at the table of the Lord, recognized this great fact? 
Have you not frequently, and in circumstances of great 
solemnity, consecrated yourselves, your time, your talents, 
your property, your influence, all to the service of 'God? 
Is it not your duty to have a disposition every morning, 



PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



321 



and on all occasions, to say, " Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do ?" Are you called upon to give — " Lord, what 
wilt thou have me to do ?" Are you called upon to 
engage in any service for the church, or to practice any 
self-denial, or to make any sacrifice, there should be no 
holding back; but still let the inquiry be, "Lord, what wilt 
thou have me to do?" Some persons will give a certain 
amount, and say, I can give this sum, and not feel it. 
Are you sure it is not your duty to give something 
more, and feel it ? Remember, the Saviour felt what he 
did for you. Some persons, when called upon to dis- 
charge some unpleasant duty, are too ready to say, " I 
pray thee have me excused." Ah, me ! if this had been 
the spirit of our blessed Redeemer, what would have 
become of our ruined race ? O, if all who have named 
the name of Christ would only do what they might in the 
cause of virtue, of religion, and of God, surely their influ- 
ence would be happily felt in every place and every 
department of life: "One might chase a thousand, and 
two put ten thousand to flight." My dear Christian 
brethren, God might convert the world by the instrumen- 
tality of angels, or without any instrumentality at all; but 
he sees proper to roll this duty upon the Church. Let 
us, then, be awake to our duty ; and O, let us be up and 
a-doing ! Let us work while the day lasts, for " the 
night cometh, when no man can work." 

But are there not some present who are impenitent 
sinners ? And have they not also a work to perform, a 
great work? — and lo! they have not yet even entered upon 
it. Sinner, this work must be done, or you cannot enter 



32 2 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

the heavenly world. It must be done, and done whilst 
on earth, or you will be lost to all eternity! O, did you 
ever think what it is to be cut off from heaven ? Did 
you ever think what it is to be lost to all eternity ? O 
eternity! eternity! Think — no end! no end! When 
embosomed in eternity, you are done with earth forever! 
You cannot come back to act your part over. Sinner, 
I tremble for you ! You have a work to do — a great, 
great work. God has given you a day in which to per- 
form this work, and much of this day is already gone. 
Perhaps your sun of life is already near its setting, and 
you have not yet even entered upon your work. What 
meanest thou, O sleeper? With what astonishment must 
ingels gaze upon you, slumbering upon the very brink 
of everlasting ruin ! Immortal man, take care of your 
soul ! Only think, if the angel of death should now touch 
you, you are gone forever! O, be persuaded to bestir 
yourself — this may be your last call ! Your sun may be 
just going down! Therefore, "Work while the day lasts, 
for the night cometh, when no man can work.** 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 

JSecond JSeries. 

_ — i 

SERMON I. 

PRECIOUS FAITH. 

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have attained 
like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ— 2 Peter i. 1. 

The faith here called precious, is saving faith, or the faith 
of God's elect, and very truly may this be termed "pre- 
cious faith." It is remarkable, my brethren, what stress 
is laid upon faith in the sacred volume. It is wonderful 
how prominent a place it is made to occupy in the system 
of divine revelation. The word faith, and its kindred 
terms, to believe and trust, are scattered over the sacred 
page like stars in the firmament of heaven ! How com- 
mon, for example, are such expressions as these : Have 
faith in God- — the just shall live by faith — we walk by 
faith — justified by faith— sanctified by faith — great faith 
— common faith— precious faith. And how common are 
such phrases as these: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ — • 
Dost thou believe on the Son of God ? — Dost thou now 
believe ? With regard to the equivalent term, trust, how 
common, particularly in the Old Testament! All per- 

323 



324 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



sons who are familiar with their Bibles, must also be 
familiar with such expressions as these: They that trust 
in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion — O house of Israel, 
trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. O 
house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and 
their shield. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put 
confidence in men. It is better to trust in the Lord than 
to put confidence in princes. And again : He shall lift 
up a standard to the gentiles, and in him shall the gen- 
tiles trust. 

And now, what is this faith, belief, or trust, so much 
spoken of, and upon which so much stress is laid in the 
sacred volume? Sad mistakes, fatal mistakes, have been 
made on the subject. Let us see to it, then, that we un- 
derstand it clearly, that we understand it thoroughly. 

Faith, in general, may be defined to be, credit given to 
the declaration or promise of another on the authority 
of him who makes it; a full persuasion that what is 
affirmed is true, that what is promised will be performed. 
When Moses said unto Pharoah, "Behold, to-morrow, 
about this time, I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail 
Send now, therefore, and gather thy cattle and all that 
thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast 
which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought 
home, the hail shall come down upon them and they 
shall die." He that believed the word of the Lord, among 
the servants of Pharoah, made his servants and his cattle 
flee into the houses, and he that believed not, left his ser- 
vants and his cattle in the field. 

Having said thus much touching the nature of faith in 



PRECIOUS FAITH. 325 

general, and its common operations, I wish now to call 
your attention to faith in Christ, the thing particularly re- 
ferred to M our text ; and which is so correctly and em- 
phatically denominated precious faith. Take this view of 
the matter. There are certain declarations of the eternal 
God, touching man as a sinner in a lost and ruined state, 
such as these : — God hath concluded all under sin, that 
every mouth might be stopped, and all the world become 
guilty before God : — Indignation and wrath, tribulation 
and anguish, upon every soul of man that sinneth : — and, 
By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his 
sight ; — the amount of which is simply this : that the sin- 
ner is (in and of himself) in a lost condition, ruined and 
undone; and cannot save himself, any more than he can 
roll a mountain, or heave an ocean. This we are to be- 
lieve as true, strictly true. 

And now for the corresponding promise. " Behold, I 
lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a pre- 
cious corner-stone, a sure foundation; and he that believ- 
eth in him shall not be ashamed." (Compare Isaiah 
xxviii. 16; Rom. ix. 33, x. 1 1, and 2 Pet. ii. 6, 9; Matt. xi. 28.) 
And again, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The idea is this : 
that those who, thoroughly convinced of their lost and 
ruined condition as sinners, shall come to Christ, that is, 
shall receive him in the arms of an appropriating faith, 
shall be accepted, shall be pardoned, shall be saved. 
Hence the language of our Shorter Catechism : " Faith is 
a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon Jesus 
Christ alone for salvation, as he is freely offered to us in 
the gospel." 



. 326 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

But that faith which is properly termed precious faith, 
must be distinguished from two things which are some- 
times taken for it. 

First. It must be distinguished from presumption. 
True faith is founded upon some divine promise ; pre- 
sumption has no such warrant. When the children of 
Israel passed through the opened channel of the Red Sea, 
they had a promise of protection; hence the apostle says: 
"By faith they passed through the Red Sea as on dry 
land, which the Egyptians assaying to do, were drowned." 
The children of Israel had a promise the Egyptians had 
not; and therefore, whilst in the one case it was an act of 
faith, in the ot' er it was an act of presumption. Take 
another illustration. Gideon, with a band of only three 
hundred men, went against the Midianites, a great army. 
This, in ordinary circumstances, would have been most 
daring and presumptuous, but really was nothing more 
than a simple act of faith, for the Lord had expressly said 
unto him, "By the three hundred men that lapped will I 
save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand." 

On the other hand, when the children of Israel, relying 
upon their numbers, went up against the Amalekites, this 
was an act of presumption, for they had no promise of 
success. On the contrary, Joshua said: "Go not up, for 
the Lord is not among you." Yet they went, and what 
was the result? What may be expected in every case of 
presumption; they met with shame and defeat. "And 
the Aunle-kites came down and smote them, and discom- 
fited them, even unto Hormah." Num. xiv. 45. 

My brethren, if we have a divine promise, we may ven- 



PRECIOUS FAITH. . 327 

ture anything, even the salvation of our souls; but we 
must beware how we venture upon anything without a 
divine warrant. Some persons, because they are not pro- 
fane, nor intemperate, nor fraudulent, because they are as 
good as the majority of mankind, imagine that they have 
no cause of alarrn in relation to their future state; but 
where is the promise that such shall be saved ? There is 
none. On the contrary, there are many passages of this 
kind; "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." 
" He that beiieveth not shall be damned ;" and, "Except a 
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
Beware how you cherish hopes not well founded! Be- 
ware how you presume even upon the mercy of God, 
without some clear and express divine warrant! And 
now, whilst we positively affirm that all who die impeni- 
tent will pens!', and all who go down to the grave with- 
out a Saviour must be damned, we. gladly and confidently 
say, th \\ if the sinner truly repent, and beiiev~ in 'he Lord 
j 1 C.nsi, he shall be forgiven, and saved! Yes, no 
matter how numerous and aggravated his sins may have 
been, even though they have been of a crimson color, 
and a scarlet dye, if he will indeed break off his sins by 
repentance, and his iniquities by turning unto the Lord, 
he will, most assuredly, be pardoned and accepted, justi- 
fied and saved. Why do we affirm this? There is a di- 
vine warrant — there is an express promise, for thus it is 
written : " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unright- 
eous man his thoughts; let him return unto the Lord, and 
he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will 
abundantly pardon." Isa. lv. 7. 



328 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



Here you perceive is the promise of a God that cannot 
lie. Let the sinner then take God at his word. Let him 
repent and believe — let him fall in with Heaven's plan ; 
and, as sure as the word of the Lord is true, his sins will 
all be blotted out, and remembered against him no more 
forever ! 

Second. True or precious faith must be distinguished 
from that faith which is only speculative or historical ; 
and, say not that this is " making a distinction without a 
difference." The distinction is great. The one is con- 
fined to the head; the other has to do with the heart 
also. As it is written, " With the heart man believeth 
unto righteousness." 

And again, when the Eunuch said to Philip, "See, here 
is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized ?" Philip 
said, " If thou believest with all thine heart, thou may- 
est." "A distinction without a difference!" Is not one 
called a living, and the other a dead faith ? And is there 
no difference between a thing that is living and a thing 
that is dead ? Here is a tree, having green foliage, bear- 
ing good fruit — and there is a tree without a single leaf, 
and whose branches are dry and dead. Is there no dif- 
ference between the one and the other ? Here is a man 
alive ; his eyes are sparkling, his cheeks are flushed with 
health, and the springs of life and health are strong 
within. There is a man pale and cold in death, wrapped 
in the winding-sheet, and prepared for the burying. His • 
eyes are closed, they cannot see; his ears are heavy, they 
cannot hear ; his tongue is dumb, it cannot speak ; his 
heart is cold, it cannot feel. Is there no difference be- 



PRECIOUS FAITH. 



329 



tween this man living, and that man dead ? The differ- 
ence is immense. Even so is it with that faith which is 
saving, and that which is not. True faith, according to 
the apostle, works by love, purifies the heart, and over- 
comes the world. Observe, this faith is an active princi- 
ple. It works — and mark! it works by love, It wakes 
up the affections of the heart — stirs up all the dormant 
feelings of the soul. But true faith is not only an active 
principle ; it is a pozverful principle. It overcomes the 
world — overcomes all its smiles and all its frowns, all its 
temptations and all its allurements. 

In the eleventh chapter of Paul's Epistle to the He- 
brews we have a glowing account of the trials and the 
triumphs of faith. After showing its mighty power in 
the case of Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, 
and Moses, and many other illustrious ones of ancient 
days, (of whom the world was not worthy) — the apostle 
breaks out in this language: "And, what shall I more 
say? For the time would fail to tell of Gideon, and of 
Barak, and of Samson, and Jephthah, of David also, and 
Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued 
kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, 
stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of 
fire, escaped the edge of the sword; out of weakness 
were made strong; waxed valiant in , fight; turned to 
flight the armies of the aliens." And thus the apostle 
goes on speaking of faith as a powerful, triumphant, 
victorious principle, braving all dangers ; meeting all dif- 
ficulties ; triumphant in every hour of trial ; and if I mis- 
take not, the apostle himself furnishes a striking example 



330 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



of the power of faith in his own case, when he exclaimed, 
" I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessi- 
ties, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake, for 
when I am weak, then am I strong." And now, who can 
confound such a working, heart-stirring, soul-rousing 
principle as this, with a cold, speculative, heartless faith, 
which, wanting the principle of vitality, is for all practical 
purposes dead and of no value? 

And here I may just make a passing remark. Some 
of those who are wont to confound a living with a dead 
faith, are wont also to confound a water-baptism with 
regeneration. How absurd ! for if they are, indeed, one 
and the same thing, then when Paul said, "I baptized none 
of you but Crispus and Gaius; and I baptized also the 
household of Stephanus; besides, I know not that I bap- 
tized any other ;" he might have said, I regenerated none 
of you but Crispus and Gaius. I regenerated also the 
household of Stephanus; besides, I know not that I 
regenerated any other. I Cor. i. 14-16. And again, when 
the Evangelist says, " Eut Jesus baptized not, but his 
disciples;" we may read it thus, But Jesus regenerated 
not, but his disciples. As " woes cluster," so error never 
comes alone. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Let it 
be remembered, then, that that faith which is true, or 
precious faith, is widely different both from presumption 
and from that faith which is cold and heartless. ■ Pre- 
sumption has no divine warrant; and what is called 
speculative or historical faith, may be possessed by the 
vilest of men, and even by devils; as it is written, "the 
devils also believe and tremble." True faith works by 
love; but devils cannot love. 



PRECIOUS FAITH. 



33t 



Having thus made a proper distinction between that 
faith which is truly precious and that which is not, I will 
now proceed to mention some reasons why the faith 
. spoken of in our text may emphatically be termed pre- 
cious. 

I. // adds greatly to our stock of knowledge. It gives 
us information of a peculiarly important character; and 
information, too, which could be obtained in no other 
way. For faith soars where reason cannot soar; and faith 
teaches where reason is struck dumb! " By faith," says 
the apostle, " we understand that the worlds were framed 
by the word of God ; so that things which are seen were 
not made of things which do appear." Reason, in this 
case, could have given me no certain knowledge. Argu- 
ing from the axiom of some ancient philosophers, that 
"from nothing nothing can come," I might conclude 
that the world existed from all eternity ; or, with some 
others, adopting another theory, I might think that the 
world, as it now is, was simply the result of a fortuitous 
concourse of atoms. But, as each of these theories is 
environed with immense difficulties, without a divine 
revelation, I can have no certain knowledge upon the 
subject: but the Bible tells me distinctly that "In the 
beginning God created the heaven and the earth ;" not 
only so, but the Bible tells me the process of creation, or 
the manner and order in which the present system,, or 
arrangement, came into existence. Believing the word 
of God, knowing that this is true, I know all about the 
origin of things; and it is to me substantially the same 
as if I had, with the angels, been hovering over the 



332 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



scene, and had been an eye-witness of the whole. Having 
full faith in the word of God, I. am just as certain of the 
fact stated, as if I had seen it with my own eyes. Is this 
strange ? Is this irrational ? By no means. I never, 
was in London; I never saw Queen Victoria; and yet I 
know that there is such a city as London, and I also 
know that there is such a Queen. In the late war with 
Mexico I had no part; I did not see our gallant soldiers 
drawn up in battle array ; I did not witness the conflict 
of battle, nor did I see them reposing in the arms of vic- 
tory; and yet I know all about the matter. I know that 
they both fought and conquered; I could not have had 
any more certain knowledge of -the fact if I had been 
actually present, and been a spectator of the scene. My 
belief in testimony gives me knowledge. 

Just so in relation to matters spread before me in the 
sacred volume. For example: By faith, I understand 
that there is only one living and true God ; by faith, I 
understand that God made man upright, but he has 
sought out many inventions. By faith, I understand that 
God hath concluded all under sin, that every mouth 
might be stopped, and all the world become guilty before 
God. By faith, I understand that God so loved the 
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life. By faith I understand that after death 
comes the judgment, and that the hour cometh when all 
that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of 
God, and shall come forth ; they that have done good to 
the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to 



PRECIOUS FAITH. 



333 



the resurrection of damnation. These, and many other 
things of like importance, are communicated to us in the 
sacred volume. By faith, they become matters of know- 
ledge ; and this knowledge having reference to matters 
of infinite importance, and which could not have been 
made known by reason, or the eye of sense, O how pre- 
cious is that faith which puts us in possession of this 
knowledge! Precious faith ! But, 

II. It adds greatly to our store of wealth ; it makes tis 
rich : it causes us to inherit all things. Yes, not only all 
things really good for us in this world, but also in that 
which is to come. Faith says, and says truly, "the Lord 
God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and 
glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them 
that walk uprightly." The believer may have neither 
silver nor gold ; and yet he is rich indeed! for he has 
that with which he would not part for all the treasures 
of the earth, or for all the world calls good or great. 
But his chief possessions are on high, and in time of need 
he can draw largely from that source. So teaches the 
apostle. "Faith," says he, " is the substance of things 
hoped for." That is, it gives a present subsistence to 
heavenly things; it brings them near. Hence the poet, 
in speaking of this property of faith, says : 

« The want of sight she well supplies, 
She makes the pearly gates appear; 
Far into distant worlds she pries, 
And brings eternal glories near." 

Aye, and this she does in such a way that, as Bunyan 
describes it, the Christian is "in heaven before he arrives 



334 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



at it" — having sometimes, even on earth, heaven let 
down into his soul, or as another beautifully expresses it, 
" Heaven begun below, and glory in the bud." Believe 
me, brethren, this is no fancy affair. It is a blessed and 
sweet reality, as many can testify, by their own happy 
experience.- The case of Edward Payson is in point, for 
during his last sickness, writing to a relative, he thus 
speaks : " Were I to use the figurative language of Bun- 
yan, I might date this letter from the land of Beulah; for 
the celestial city seems to be now full in view. Its 
breezes fan me; its odors are wafted to me; its music 
falls upon my ear ; its spirit is breathed into my heart 
Nothing now separates me from that happy world but 
death, which seems only as an insignificant rill, which 
may be crossed at a step, whenever God shall give com- 
mand." Yes, my brethren, when faith is strong, iis 
visions are as clear as those of sight, and, in this way. 
oftentimes it enables the believer to rise above all the 
sorrows of this life, and anticipate the joys of the paradise 
of God. It is even so : 

* The men of grace have found 
Glory begun below : 
Celestial fruits on earthly ground 
From faith and hope may grow." 

Now, that faith by which the believer is enabled to 
pitch his tent in the land of Beulah, and so to speak, " be 
in heaven before he arrives at it," is surely of great value, 
and may well be called precious faith. O ! that it were 
more common. It would lighten the heaviest burden, 
soften the hardest bed, sweeten the bitterest cup, and 



PRECIOUS FAITH. 



335 



brighten the darkest scene ! O ! give me this faith, this 
precious faith, and my song in the house of my pilgrim- 
age will be the song of the Psalmist: Thou shalt guide 
me with thy counsels, and afterwards receive me to glory ! 
O ! give me this faith, this precious faith, and my shout in 
a dying hour will be the shout of the conqueror, "O 
death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy vic- 
tory? Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory 
through our Lord Jesus Christ." Precious faith ! 

III. It is the title-bond of our future inheritance — the 
evidence or proof of our being the heirs of heaven. This 
seems to be the precise idea of the apostle when, after 
affirming that faith is the " substance of things hoped 
for," he adds, " the evidence of things not seen." That 
is, it is the proof or demonstration of the fact. Take an 
illustration : This man receives an appointment to some 
high office under government. Here is the document. 
It is signed by the governor, and bears the great seal of 
the State. In all respects it is properly authenticated. 
Here is the evidence of the appointment — the full proof 
of the fact. The appointment is his, just as certainly his 
as if the governor were present, and had inaugurated him 
into that office. But, take another case : You give me a 
deed to a tract of land in the State of Maine, where I 
have never been. It is duly signed, duly witnessed ; 
everything is according to law; that land is mine; I have 
never walked over that tract — I have never seen it. It 
matters not ; that tract of land is as certainly mine as if I 
had bought it with my own money, and had walked over 
it a thousand times. I have the deed, the evidence of the 



33<5 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



fact ; that which entitles me to full possession. Just so 
in the case before us. It is written, " Believe in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shait be saved." Now this faith 
secures salvation to the true believer. It is the title-bond 
or evidence of his being an heir of heaven. But, as the 
appointment or deed spoken of must be authenticated, 
that it may be known to be true and genuine, so must 
this faith be authenticated, or proved to be genuine. 
How ? The apostle tells us, " To you that believe, Christ 
is precious." Is Christ then precious to your soul ? 
This proves that you do believe ; and truly believing, you 
have the word of God for it that you shall be saved. 
But, as an appointment or deed is authenticated in vari- 
ous ways, so we may mention another way to prove that 
our title-bond to heaven is good. It is written, " There 
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in 
Christ Jesus." Now observe our train of reasoning : If 
there be no condemnation, our sins are pardoned ; if par- 
doned, of course we are the children of God, and heirs of 
heaven. But how am I to know that there is no con- 
demnation for me ? I have evidence that I am in Christ. 
But how am I to know that I am in Christ ? The Bible 
tells me — " If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. 
Old things are passed away, all things are become new." 
Well, I am a new man. I have new views, new feelings, 
new desires, new joys, new sorrows. I have a new relish. 
What I once loved I now hate ; what I once hated I now 
love. Yes, in all my views and feelings, in all my tastes 
and habits, I am a new man. My title-bond, so to speak, 
is now duly signed and sealed. Now, although I have 



PRECIOUS FAITH. 



337 



never been in heaven, or seen its glories with my mortal 
eyes, unwavering faith in the word of God gives me an 
assurance, which fully satisfies my mind, and enables me, 
even now, to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 
glory. Precious faith! 

IV. Faith honors God and pleases him. A very strik- 
ing example, or proof, of this is found in the case of 
Abraham. He staggered not at the promise through 
unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. 
How? The apostle tells us. "By faith, Abraham, when 
he was tried, offered up Isaac ; and he that had received 
the promises offered up his only begotten son." The cir- 
cumstances of the case are these : God had promised 
Abraham that he should have a numerous posterity, and 
that in Isaac his seed should be blessed. Now mark the 
trial and triumphs of Abraham's faith. " When Abraham 
was now old, and his wife also well stricken in age, God 
called unto him, and said, Abraham, and he answered, Be- 
hold, here I am. And the Lord said unto him, Take now 
thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get 
thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a 
burnt offering upon one of the mountains that I will tell 
thee of." 

O ! what a command was this ! Must Isaac, his son, 
his only and beloved son, must he be offered as a burnt- 
offering? and must this be done by Abraham himself? 
May not the offering be made by another hand ? No, 
Abraham must do it himself — and do it without delay! 
"Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou 
lovest, and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him for 



338 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



a burnt-offering, upon one of the mountains that I will 
tell thee of." What a trial to parental feeling, and what 
a severe trial of his faith ! Was not Isaac the child of 
promise, and if he were slain, how could the promise be 
fulfilled ? Abraham could not tell, nor did he trouble 
himself about the matter. God had promised ; that was 
enough. Is anything too hard for God ? Could he not 
do all things ? Could he not even raise Isaac again from 
the dead ? At any rate, Abraham was resolved to obey 
his Maker, and trust his word. 

And what did Abraham ? " He rose up early in the 
morning and saddled his ass, and took two of his young 
men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for 
the burnt-offering, and went unto the place of which God 
had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up 
his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said 
unto the young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I 
and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again 
unto you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt- 
offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son ; and he took fire 
in his hand, and a knife ; and they went both of them to- 
gether. And Isaac spake unto his father, and said, My 
Father : and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, 
Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for 
a burnt-offering?" What a question from a darling boy! 
How it must have pierced the heart of the old patriarch ! 
** And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a 
lamb for a burnt-offering. And they came to the place 
which God had told him of ; and Abraham built an altar 
there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac hi§ 



PRECIOUS FAITH. 



339 



son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood ; and he 
took the knife to slay his son." What an act of triumph- 
ant faith was this! But this is enough. "And the angel 
of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, 
Abraham ! Abraham ! and he said, Here am I. And he 
said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any- 
thing unto him : for now I know that thou fearest God, 
seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 
from me. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abra- 
ham the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, 
saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and 
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me, there- 
fore, in blessing I will bless thee; and in multiplying I will 
multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand 
upon the sea-shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate of 
his enemies, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the 
earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice/* 
Thus Abraham honored God, and pleased him. Yes, 
faith not only honors God, but pleases him. This idea 
must not be left out of view. What says the apostle con- 
cerning Enoch ? 44 By faith Enoch was translated that he 
should not see death ; for before his translation he had 
this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith it 
is impossible to please him ; for he that cometh to God 
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them 
that diligently seek him." The case of Enoch, according 
to a Jewish tradition, was this : Enoch lived in a time of 
abounding iniquity. He was a bold reprover. His life 
was threatened ; but God commanded him to denounce 
judgments upon the wicked around him; assuring him 



340 



REVIVAL SERMONS.' 



that they should not be permitted to do him any harm. 
Accordingly he, in the midst of a raging multitude, lifted 
up his voice, and said: "Behold the Lord cometh with ten 
thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon you all." 
Upon this they rushed upon him, to put him to death ; 
4 but suddenly the heavens were opened, and in the view 
of all he was snatched away ! " was translated that he 
should not see death." 

Now that faith which thus honors and pleases God, 
must surely be of great value ; must be precious indeed ! 
O ! that we had more of this precious faith in this our 
day ! Let each Christian now lift up his heart, and say : 
Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief ! Lord increase 
my faith ! Precious faith ! But again : 

V. Faith unites to Christ, in our effectual calling. It 
binds the soul of the believer to Christ in bonds never to 
be broken. This is its chief excellence — this is its crown- 
ing glory 5 for what can the ivy do without the oak ? and 
what can such poor sinners as we are do without a Sa- 
viour ? But faith not only links the soul to Christ, but 
creates a union, mysterious and divine. Is Jesus Christ 
the vine ? Believers are the branches. Is Jesus Christ 
the head ? Believers are the members. Is Jesus Christ 
the bridegroom ? Believers are the bride. Nay, the 
apostle uses language, if possible, stronger still ; for, says 
he, "We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his 
bones !" Precious faith \ uniting us to Christ, it makes us 
partakers of his righteousness; and possessed of this, our 
peace is made with God, and we are safe and happy for 
ever, for thus it is written: "There is therefore now no 



PRECIOUS FAITH, 



34* 



Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." And 
again : " Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ : by whom also we have 
access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and 
rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Precious faith ! 
How precious it must be in a day of trouble I O ! how 
precious in a dying hour! 

And now, in closing : — How very simple and beautiful 
Is the way of salvation ! We are not required to traverse 
oceans, nor scale mountains, nor study abstruse sciences* 
We are not required to go on a pilgrimage to the tomb of 
some prophet, or the shrine of some martyr. What says 
the Saviour ? " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the 
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that 
whosoever helieveth in him should not perish, but have 
eternal life." And again, the Saviour, knowing how 
prone many persons are to stumble at the simplicity of 
the way of salvation, comes over the same ground, in the 
very next verse ; for, says he, " God so loved the world, 
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lieve th in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
In accordance with this, when the trembling, convicted 
jailor at Philippi, propounded to Paul and Silas that im- 
portant inquiry." O sirs, what must I do to be saved?" the 
prompt reply was, " Eelieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved." Yes, faith in Christ is the grand 
requisite. This is heaven's plan, and let none stumble at 
its simplicity, for every thing that God does is marked with 
simplicity. If you and I had the lighting up of the world, 
what a complicated machinery we would have ! How 



4 

34 2 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

many torches and lamps I and the world would not be 
well lighted up then. But God proposes to light up the 
world, and mark ! one brilliant sun, like an urn of over- 
flowing light, pours day, beauteous day, upon the world. 
How much better than all our torches and lamps! Even 
so, all the efforts of all the men in the world cannot save 
one sinner from the damnation of hell! But, thank God! 
one loving Jesus, one dear, dying Christ, can save mill- 
ions ! Aye, can save millions crowding upon millions !— 
Can save, and will save, all who will cordially receive 
him as he is offered in the gospel ! And now, if there be 
a burdened sinner present who desires salvation, let him 
remember the words of the blessed Saviour, already re- 
cited, " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wildernes, 
even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoso- 
ever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal 
life." This is a beam of light divine. This is the gospel 
in miniature ! And, if the whole Bible were destroyed, 
and this fragment only left, we would have enough to 
point out our pathway to heaven. Remember the lan- 
guage is the language of the Saviour himself, and his 
illustration is most striking and to the point. The chil- 
dren of Israel were bitten by fiery serpents ; the venom 
was deadly. Moses could not heal them ; the elders of 
Israel could not heal them, nor could they heal them- 
selves. God alone could meet the case. And, accord- 
ingly, in the plenitude of his mercy, he directs Moses to 
prepare a brazen serpent, and lift it upon a pole, and 
pledged the veracity of a God, that whosoever when bit- 
ten, should look, should live. Here is a man bitten! 01 



PRECIOUS FAITH. 



343 



send for Moses — send for the elders! They come. What 
is the matter? A serpent has bitten me, and I am in 
agony — I am dying ! Moses, help me ! I can't help you, 
says Moses. Elders of Israel, help a dying man ! We 
can't help you. What is to be done? Must I die? O 
no, says Moses ; yonder is God's remedy ; only look, and 
you shall live. The dying man, as the last resort, turns 
his dying eyes ; they look upon the serpent, and instantly 
he springs up, and exclaims in the joy of his heart, I am 
cured ! I am a sound man ! Well, says Moses, this is 
just what God has said, Look and you shall live. Even 
so, one look of faith at the blessed Redeemer, and the 
sinner is converted! One look of faith at the great 
atoning sacrifice, and his sins are all forgiven ! Yea, one 
look of faith at the dear, dying Christ, and the universe 
is changed in relation to the sinner, and there are shout- 
ings in heaven over him : — " The dead is alive, and the 
lost is found again." Yes, this is the way of salvation, as 
it is written, " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends 
of the earth, for I am God, and beside me there is none 
else." And again, " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and thou shalt be saved." 

Travelling as a missionary once, I came to a house of 
entertainment. Although an utter stranger, I was, when 
known to be a minister, invited to hold family worship. 
I read in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, from 
the fourteenth to the nineteenth verse ; and in comment- 
ing upon the portion read, I remarked that the way of 
salvation was very simple. The case was simply this: 
The sinner is lost; he can no more save himself than he 



344 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



can roll a mountain, or heave an ocean. He is not re- 
quired to save himself. A Saviour, an all- sufficient and. 
most precious Saviour, is provided; and if the sinner will 
only cordially accept of him, as he is freely offered in the 
gospel, he shall be saved. A daughter of the man of the 
house, had, as it seems, been under serious impressions 
for two long years; but, as yet, had obtained no hope. 
She listened to my remarks; she drank in every word, and 
was much wrought upon. During prayer she wept; and 
as she rose to her feet, at the conclusion of the prayer, 
she exclaimed, "I have found my Saviour! O, my father, 
my mother," said she, " I have found my blessed Saviour!" 
"Well," said I, "Is Jesus Christ a precious Saviour?" 
"O!" replied she, "he is the blessedest Saviour that ever 
was." "Well, what would you take for your hope?" " I 
would not take the whole world," said she, "all in silver 
and gold." Awakened sinner! stumble not at the sim« 
plicity of the way of salvation. Remember, it is written, 
" God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life." This is true— it is divinely true. 
O! be persuaded to fall in with this plan of salvation.— 
"Believe, and take the promised rest; obey, and be for 
ever blest," Precious Faith! 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY, 



345 



SERMON II. 

THE FULFILMENT OF SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God 
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.— 2 Peter i. 21. 

When the apostle Peter wrote this, his second and last 
epistle, being aware that he must soon go the way of all 
the earth, he seems to have been particularly desirous 
that his Christian brethren should distinctly bear in mind 
one thing — that they had " not followed cunningly de- 
vised fables that the Saviour whom they received was 
indeed the predicted Messiah, and consequently the reli- 
gion which he promulged was true — was divinely true. 
With regard to himself, if there were no other evidence 
of the fact, the transfiguration scene was of itself suffi- 
ciently convincing, for he was an eye-witness of his 
majesty, when there came such a voice from the excellent 
glory, saying, " this- is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
well pleased." "But," continues he, "we have more sure 
word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well to take heed, 
as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, 
and the day-star arise in your hearts." The main idea 
here seems to be this : while the miraculous attestation 
given to the character of Christ on the mount of trans- 
figuration v/as abundantly sufficient to satisfy himself and 
others who were eye-witnesses on the occasion, it might 
not be convincing to such as had not been present, and 
therefore he refers them to what he denominates the 



34$ 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



more sure word of prophecy, — more sure, because 
more capable of being more deliberately and severely 
tested. You perceive, my brethren, that the apostle 
lays great stress upon prophecy, as furnishing a 
powerful argument for the truth of the Christian religion ; 
and I am free to say that I do think it furnishes an 
argument which can neither be gainsayed nor resisted 
an argument which can bear the most thorough exami- 
nation, and which will stand the " test of scrutiny, of tal- 
ents and of time." 

L In relation to Abraham, when he was aged, and yet 
childless, and Sarah his wife also well stricken in age, it 
was predicted that his seed should be exceedingly numer- 
ous. " If," said God, "a man can number the dust of the 
earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered." About 
four hundred years after this, the children of Israel (only 
a portion of his posterity) came out of Egypt, and en- 
camped in the plains of Moab, an exceeding great multi- 
tude. Balak, king of Moab, alarmed for the safety of his 
dominions, sends for Balaam, the prophet of Aram : — and 
mark what is said : " Behold there is a people come out 
of Egypt: behold they cover the face of the earth ! Come 
now, I pray thee, and curse me this people, for they are 
too mighty for me." When Balaam came, having erected 
his altars and offered sacrifices, he took up his parable 
and said : — Mark his language ! — " Balak, king of Moab, 
hath brought me from Aram, ou4 of the mountains 
of the East, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, 
defy Israel. How shall I curse whom God hath not 
cursed? and how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 



347 



defied ? From the top of the rocks I see him, and from 
the hills I behold him I Lo, this people shall dwell 
alone, and not be reckoned among the nations ! Who 
can count the dust of Jacob, or the number of the fourth 
part of Israel ?" Here you perceive that the thing 
which particularly struck the prophet of Aram was the ex- 
ceeding great number of the people spread out before 
him. 

But there is another prophecy in relation to Abraham, 
which is perhaps still more remarkable. It is this: I will 
make thy name great in the earth. Now, let it be remem- 
bered, that when this language was uttered Abraham was 
but a plain man, dwelling in tents. He was no states- 
man, no warrior; he was no poet, no orator. There 
was nothing about him which promised to twine around 
his brow the laurels of fame; nothing whatever which 
seemed calculated to stamp his character with immor- 
tality. He was only, as we have said, a plain man, 
dwelling in tents; and yet it was predicted that his name 
should be great in the earth. And has not this prophecy 
been literally fulfilled ? Is not his name great in the 
earth at the present time? Has it not been great for, 
lo ! these many thousand years? Most of the nations of 
1 the East endeavor to trace up their genealogy to this 
wonderful man. With regard to the Jews, his lineal 
descendants, we all know how proud they are 
of him as their great progenitor ; and even we gentile 
Christians, made the children of Abraham by faith, even 
we also have for him a most profound veneration. Tell 
me, my brethren, who and where is the man, and in what 



348 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



age did he ever live, whose name is to be compared with 
that of Abraham? We have heard of Nebuchadnezzar 
the Great, and Pompey the Great, and Alexander the 
Great, and Herod, and Frederick, and Napoleon the 
Great, but the name of Abraham is far greater than each 
— far greater than all ! Is not this remarkable ? Is it 
not-strong proof of the inspiration of the sacred volume ? 
Young man, your mother is right ! The Bible is true. 
Beware how you slight it ! It will cost you your soul ! 

II. In Genesis ix. 27, we have a very remarkable pro- 
phecy, uttered by Noah : " God shall enlarge Japheth : he 
shall dwell in the tents of Shem ; and Canaan shall be 
his servant." The first thing, in relation to this prophecy, 
which we would notice, is this, that here, in three senten- 
ces, embracing only twenty words, Noah sketches the 
outline of the history of the whole human race, descend- 
ing from his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth." No- 
tice each prediction : " God shall enlarge Japheth." Dr. 
Scott says that Japheth seems to have been the progeni- 
tor of more than one-half of the human family ! Besides 
occupying a large part of Asia, they spread over all Eu- 
rope. They swarm in the West India Islands, and nearly 
cover all America, north and south. Thus in exact ac- 
cordance with the prophecy, God has enlarged Japheth. 
But it is also said, " he shall dwell in the tents of Shem." 
Now, whether this prophecy has relation to political or 
religious privileges, it has been most remarkably fulfilled. 
It is well known, that political power has, to a great ex- 
tent, passed over from the children of Shem to the chil- 
dren of Japheth; and in religious matters also, (the gos- 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 349 

pel, for example,) we see with our own eyes that Japheth 
has supplanted Shem. The Jews, for their unbelief, have 
been cut off, and we gentiles, and children of Japheth, 
have been brought in. The aborigines of this country, 
beyond all doubt, are the children of Shem ; and have 
not the children of Japheth, jassing over from the Old 
World here on this Western Continent, literally taken 
possession of the tents of Shem ? Where your house 
now stands was once an Indian wigwam; and where our 
cities now rise in splendor, were seen, two centuries ago, 
the villages of the red men of the West. Yes, by treaty 
and by conquest, by fair means and foul means, the chil- 
dren of Japheth have lorded it over the children of Shem, 
and are at this very time dwelling in their tents. But the 
prophet adds, " and Canaan shall be his servant." And, 
where, I would ask, do those in servitude chiefly come 
from, if not from Africa, the home of Ham, the father of 
Canaan? Ham, it seems, has never shaken a sceptre 
over Japheth. Shem has subdued Japheth, and Japheth 
has subdued Shem; but Ham has subdued neither. And 
thus we see that each item of Noah's prophecy has been 
most remarkably fulfilled. "God shall enlarge Japheth; 
he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be 
his servant." How is this to be accounted for? Peter 
tells us; "prophecy came not in old time by the will of 
man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by 
the Holy Ghost." 

III. The next remarkable prophecy to which I shall 
call your attention, is found in Exodus xxxiv. 24: "Neith- 
er shall any man desire thy land when thou shalt go up 



350 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



to appear before the Lord thy God, thrice in the year." 
By reference to the context, it will be seen that Moses had 
given directions, that when the children of Israel had 
taken possession of the promised land, there should be a 
gathering together of the men, from all their coasts, to 
worship at .one altar thrice in every year. Anticipating 
an objection which might very naturally be made, that 
this would hold out a temptation to lawless and predatory 
bands to take advantage of the occasion to rob and plun- 
der, Moses, to set them at rest upon this point, utters the 
bold prophecy recited: "Neither shall any man desire 
thy land when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord 
thy God, thrice in the year." Now, this prophecy was 
either fulfilled, or not fulfilled. If not, how shall we ac- 
count for the fact — the well known fact — that year after 
year, and age after age, the males did go up to Jerusalem 
with their offerings, as directed. Suppose, for example, 
relying upon the protecting providence of God, promised 
by Moses, they had gone up, and upon their return, had 
found that this protecting providence had not been vouch- 
safed, think you that they would have gone up again ? 
I suspect not. They would have seen that an imposition 
of a very serious character had been practised upon them ; 
and one imposition of this kind would have sufficed. 
They would have gone up and left their families and pos- 
sessions defenceless no more. Now, the question is, how 
could Moses, how could any uninspired man, have foreseen 
thit such a remarkable (may I not say miraculous) provi- 
dence would be spreading its protecting shield over them 
year after year ? This is truly a very remarkable case, 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 



351 



and is worthy of the serious thought of every sceptic in 
the land. It furnishes an argument for the truth of the 
Bible, which I humbly conceive cannot be set aside. 
Yes, the Bible is true ! Thank God, it comes to us with 
" credentials clear," " on every line marked with the seal 
of high divinity." 

IV. In the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel, from 
the 24th verse to the close of that chapter, we have a rich 
cluster of prophecies in relation to the Messiah. We w-ill 
point out only two or three, and those the fulfilment of 
which is remarkably clear and manifest. I. It was predicted 
that he, the true Messiah, when he came, should cause 
the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Was not this a very 
strange prediction ? Shall cause the sacrifice and obla- 
tion to cease. Were not these of divine appointment? 
Did they not form the very sum and substance of the Jew's 
religion ? How unlikely was the fulfilment of this predic- 
tion ! And yet, has it not been literally fulfilled ? Christ, 
by his death upon the cross, superseded the necessity of 
all the Levitical sacrifices under the law. " It is finished," 
said he, as he bowed his head upon the cross, and the old 
dispensation then passed away. No acceptable sacrifice was 
d after that: aye, and soon the very altar was demol- 
ished — and lo ! the sacrificial fire has been quenched for 
these eighteen hundred years ! It is well known that sac- 
rifices and offerings were permitted to be made in Jerusa- 
lem only. This holy city, having passed over into the 
hands of the gentiles, the sacrifice and offering have liter- 
ally ceased, even down to the present day, so that we can 
now see the fulfilment of this prophecy with our own eyes. 



352 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



But another prediction is this : " He shall seal u; th* 
vision and the prophecy." That is, shall close the s«*cred 
canon. Turn to the last chapter of the book of Revela- 
tion, and you will find these words: "If any man shall 
add unto these things, God shall add unto him the 
plagues that are written in this book." And mark who 
the speaker is : "I Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify 
unto you these things in the churches." Here you perceive 
the blessed Saviour, the true Messiah, (just as it was pre- 
dicted so long time ago,) with authority, closes the sacred 
canon. It is true — the papal council of Trent, in the six- 
teenth century, had the hardihood and daring wickedness 
to add the Apocrypha, (books which the Jews themselves 
never received as inspired,) and what was this ? Evi- 
dence that the prophecy was not fulfilled by Christ, as the 
Messiah ? Nay, verily, but proof positive that the papal 
Church, thus trampling upon the authority of Christ, is, 
in deed and truth, the antichristian power, which itself 
also was predicted. A third prediction in this connection 
is this: "The people of the prince that shall come shall 
destroy the city and the sanctuary." And who is this 
prince, in whose day the city and the sanctuary were de- 
stroyed ? Titus, the Roman commander — was it done 
by his authority ? No, he endeavoured to prevent it. 
He gave orders to his soldiers to spare the temple ; but 
they were too strong for him. " When they had gotten 
within the walls of the city," Josephus states, "they were 
seized with a kind of frenzy, and, hurling firebrands upon 
that magnificent edifice, it was, with the city, soon laid 
in ruins." Note the accuracy of the prediction ; not the 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 



353 



prince, but the people of the prince, shall destroy the city 
and the sanctuary. With regard to the seventy weeks 
spoken of, it is thought to be one of the most remarkable 
prophecies upon sacred record, and one of those most ex- 
actly fulfilled. Almost any commentator will show that 
the event corresponds to the prediction, to the very 
letter. 

V. In the forty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, we find another 
Old Testament prophecy, referring to New Testament 
times. " I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and 
floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon 
thy seed; and my blessing upon thine offspring: and 
they shall spring up, as among the grass, and as willows 
by the water-courses." How descriptive is this of those 
revival scenes which have so signally characterized gospel 
times, beginning with the outpouring of the Spirit on the 
day of Pentecost. And, referring to the spreading of re- 
ligion amongst the gentiles, the prophet adds, "One shall 
say I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the 
name of Jacob, and shall subscribe with his hand unto 
the Lord, and shall sirname himself by the- name of Is- 
rael." And how descriptive is this also, of what many of 
us have seen with our own eyes, when in times of revival 
converts came forward, in crowds, and avouched Jehovah, 
the God of Israel, to be their covenant God and Father ! 
But, what makes the matter yet more remarkable, is this, 
that the same prophet tells us that these converts shall be 
called by another name, and a new name. (See Isaiah 
lxii. 2. and lxv. 15.) And is not this also even so? Or- 
iginally the people of God were called "Israelites;" now 



354 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



they are termed " Christians." And is not this another 
name ? And is it not also a new name ? Luke says the 
disciples were first called Christians at Antioch, Acts xi. 
26. And now, my brethren, how can we account for 
these things ? Believe me, Peter tells us the true way, 
and there is no other : " Prophecy came not in old time, 
by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they 
were moved by the Holy Ghost." Surely the Bible is 
true, is divinely true! 

VI. In the thirty-fifth chapter of Jeremiah we have a 
prophecy rarely adverted to, and yet one that is exceed- 
ingly remarkable. " Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall not 
want a man to stand before me forever, because he hath 
obeyed the voice of his father." The statement of the 
case is in substance this: — In the days of Jehoiakim, the 
son of Josiah, king of Judah, the word of the Lord came 
unto Jeremiah, saying: Go unto the house of the Recha- 
bites, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into 
one of the chambers of the priests, and give them wine 
to drink. And when they were brought in, Jeremiah set 
before them' pots full of wine, and cups, and said unto 
them, Drink ye wine. But they said, We will drink no 
wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, com- 
manded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither shall 
ye build houses, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyards, nor 
have any, but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; and 
we have done according to all that Jonadab, our father, 
commanded us. And Jeremiah said unto the house of 
the Rechabites: Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God 
of Israel, Because ye have obeyed the commandment of 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 



355 



Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done 
according to all that he commanded you, therefore, thus 
saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab, the 
son of Rechab, shall not want a man to stand before me 
forever! — This is the prophecy; now let us trace its ful- 
filment. Some thirty years ago, Joseph Wolf, a mission- 
ary of the East, being in Mesopotamia, whilst conversing 
with the Jews, saw a man standing a little distance hold- 
ing a horse by the bridle. " There is one of the Recha- 
bites," said the Jews. Immediately going up to him, the 
missionary inquired who he was. " I am Mousa," said 
he; and turning to the thirty-fifth chapter of Jeremiah, in 
a Bible which the missionary handed to him, he read in 
Arabic the whole chapter. " Here," said he, " is my 
lineage;" and added, " Come with me, and I will show 
you that we number sixty thousand at the present day !" 
Saying this he mounted his steed, and, says the mission- 
ary, flew with the swiftness of the wind, leaving behind 
him a standing monument of the fact that Prophecy 
came not in old time by the will of man ; but holy men 
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 
Well did Peter call it a " sure word of prophecy." 

VII. With regard to the prophecies in relation to the 
Jews, there are none which have been more remarkably 
fulfilled, but they have been frequently presented; there- 
fore, on the present occasion, I will pass over them very 
briefly. It was predicted that they should be a peculiar 
people — and have they not for ages and ages been a pecu- 
liar people, and are they not a peculiar people at the pre- 
sent time ? — peculiar in their habits and manners ; peculiar 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



in their very looks ? It was predicted that they should 
be scattered — and where is there a nation under heaven 
where some of this peculiar people are not found? It 
was predicted that they should be persecuted — only read 
the history of the Jews, and you will find abundant evi- 
dence that this prophecy has been fulfilled to the very 
letter ! It was predicted that they should become a pro- 
verb and a by-word — and how common are such sayings 
as these: "As rich as a Jew:" and, "Take care of that 
man, he will Jew you." It was predicted that they should 
dwell alone, and not be reckoned amongst the nations — 
and is not this their condition at the present time ? and 
has it not been such, for, lo ! these many years ? " The 
children of Israel shall abide many days," says the 
prophet, " without a king, without a prince, and without 
a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, 
and without a teraphim. Afterwards shall the children 
of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David 
their king, and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in 
the latter days." Hosea iii. 4, 5. P"or eighteen hundred 
years the children of Israel have had no king, no prince, 
no sacrifice, no image, no ephod, no teraphim, and they 
now seem evidently awaiting some great event about to 
take place in these latter days. I do say, that the past 
history of the Jews, and their present condition, furnish 
an evidence for the inspiration of the sacred Scriptures, 
which, I am bold to affirm, cannot be overturned or set 
aside. Young man! I repeat what I said before; your 
mother is right ! The Bible is true ! Beware how you 
make light of it ! It will cost you your soul ! 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 



357 



VIII. One prophecy more and I have done. It is 
found in Daniel xii. 4. " Many shall run to and fro, and 
knowledge shall be increased." This prophecy is in- 
vested with peculiar interest, as, I verily believe, it has 
special reference to these last days, or the times in which 
we live. By reference to the context, it will be seen that 
the prophet speaks of the rising of an antichristian power, 
which should continue twelve hundred and sixty years ; 
and that about the time of its going down, " many shall 
run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." There 
are two periods from which Protestants usually date the 
rising of this antichristian power; one is from the year 
606, when Boniface III. became universal bishop; and 
the other is one hundred and fifty years later, in the year 
756, when Stephen L, bishop of Rome, was made a tem- 
poral prince. Certainly, on each of these occasions, we 
see the V Man of Sin" looking out. Take the first. In 
the year 606 the bishop of Rome usurped the title of 
universal bishop. Was not this in direct opposition to 
the spirit and teachings of our blessed Saviour? It will 
be recollected that when, on a certain occasion, the 
apostles disputed among themselves which of them 
should be the greatest, the Saviour gave them a rebuke 
which they seem never to have forgotten to their dying 
day. And it is remarkable that even to the time of 
Gregory I., only a few years previous to Boniface III., 
this love of pre-eminence, or spirit of domination, was 
considered an unequivocal mark of antichrist; for, when 
the patriarch of Constantinople assumed the name and 
title of universal bishop, Gregory I. made this remark, 



358 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



that " Whoever assumes the name or title of universal 
bishop is antichrist, or the forerunner of antichrist." The 
bishop of Rome then being judge, the bishop of Rome, 
assuming, in the year 606, this very title, became anti- 
christian in his character. Reckoning twelve hundred 
and sixty years from that period, (allowing three hundred 
and sixty days to the year,) will bring us to the year 
1848, a year most memorable in the calendar of time, 
when the Pope of Rome was driven from his throne, and 
his tiara made to trail in the dust. Certainly there was 
then a blow given to that power, which, to say the least, 
marked a new and most disastrous era in the history of 
the Church of Rome. The other period from which we 
usually date the rising of this antichristian power is, as 
we have said, one hundred and fifty years later, when 
Stephen I., bishop of Rome, became a temporal prince. 
And it must be confessed that then the features of the Man 
of Sin were much more clearly and distinctly marked. A 
temporal prince ! A temporal prince ! What warrant had 
he for this ? What said the Saviour? " My kingdom is 
not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then 
would my servants fight; but now is my kingdom not 
of this world." You see, my brethren, the opposition, 
the direct opposition of the Pope of Rome to Christ and 
his authority. How palpable! how daring! Look a 
little longer at the matter. The Pope wears a crown. 
Did Christ wear a crown? Ah! me, he did wear a crown, 
but it was a crown of thorns. The Pope wears a crown, 
set with jewels ; Christ, a crown interwoven with thorns. 
Is the servant greater than his master? or he that is sent 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 



359 



greater than he who sent him? But it is said the Pope 
is the successor of Peter, the prince of the apostles. Did 
Paul acknowledge him as prince, when he rebuked him 
at Antioch ? Did James, when he presided himself at 
the council held in Jerusalem ? Did the council, when 
they sent him upon an errand into gentile lands ? or did 
Peter himself, when he used this unassuming language, 
"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also 
an elder." The fact is, if any of the apostles was prince, 
or primate, it must have been Paul, for it was he, and not 
Peter, who affirmed that " the care of all the churches was 
upon him." The case is clear; the Church of Rome is 
the antichristian power spoken of by Daniel, and by John 
also, which was to rule with a high hand, and continue 
twelve hundred and sixty years. But whether the rising 
of this antichristian power be dated from the year 606, or 
one hundred and fifty years after, it matters not; the 
time of the end is near. As for myself, I deem both 
calculations correct. As there was more than one period 
from which we date the beginning of the Babylonish 
captivity, which was to last seventy years, and each was 
right, (seventy years carrying us to some corresponding 
decree for the restoration of the Jews,) even so, in this 
case, twelve hundred and sixty years from the first men- 
tioned period will carry us to the first effectual blow 
given to this antichristian power; twelve hundred and 
sixty from the second will carry us to the last; for ac- 
cording to the Scriptures, this power is not to be crushed 
in a day ; it will die hard, and its last convulsive agonies 
must needs be protracted. If, then, twelve hundred and 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



sixty years from the first date bring us to the period 
when the great power of the Man of Sin shall be broken, 
twelve hundred and sixty years from the second date 
will bring us to the grand predicted consummation, when 
great voices shall be heard in heaven, saying, " Babylon 
the great is fallen, is fallen !" and amid Alleluias innu- 
merable, her smoke shall go up for ever and ever ! But 
in any case, one thing is evident, Daniel's vision is clos- 
ing; for it is to be known by this: In the time of the end 
"many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be in- 
creased." What a mighty moving amongst the nations 
has there been in these latter ages! What a spirit of 
emigration ! How they crowd in upon us from the old 
world ! Every ship comes freighted with human 
beings. The tide of population flowing in upon us 
from all quarters of the earth is immense — something 
like three hundred thousand every year. And how 
many, in our own land, are going east, west, north, 
and south, as business, or trade, or fancy may direct. I 
am bold to say, that at this present time there is more of 
this running to and fro than was ever known before. Yes, 
literally "running." What is now the usual mode of 
travelling ? Is it not in steamboats and railroad cars ? 
And do we not speak of one " running" ten, twelve, and 
fourteen miles an hour? and the other "running" 
twenty, thirty, forty, and even fifty miles an hour? What 
multitudes are upon the move now, and with what speed 
do they go ! Surely the prophet's mental ray was purged, 
and it was when he was under the inspiration of the 
Almighty, that he uttered this prediction — " Many shall 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 



361 



run to and fro;" but this is not all; he adds, "knowledge 
shall be increased."* 

And is there not at this time a spirit of inquiry, and a 
spirit of inquiry such as was never known before? Is 
not the schoolmaster abroad, and the lecturer abroad, and 
the missionary abroad? It was said, "The Lord gave 
the command, and great was the company that published 
it." And so, at the present time, the Lord has willed it 
that knowledge shall be increased ; and how many, and 
varied in their characters, are those who are carrying the 
lights of science and religion into every land! Old land- 
marks are breaking down ; old prejudices are passing 
away ; and sacrifices are now being kindled in every val- 
ley, and on every mountain-top, not only throughout our 
boundless continent, but even in the islands which are 
afar of! This new order of things may be dated from the 
period of the Reformation. Then was the long slumber 
of ages broken; then was the morning-star seen to rise 
in splendor; and then could the great Reformers exclaim 
with the voice of joy and praise, " the night is far spent; 
the day is at hand !" Yea, congratuating each other, 
they might well indulge in the language of triumph and 
exultation, and say, 

" Christian, see the orient morning 

Breaks along the darken'd sky! 
Lo ! the exp cted day is dawning, 

Glorious Day-Spring from on high. 
Zion's Sun, salvation beaming, 

Gilding now the radiant hills, 
Rise and shine, till, brighter beaming. 

All the world thy glory fills I" 



362 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



What inventions, what discoveries, what improvements 
have marked these latter ages! First, we may mention 
the mariner's compass, by which new oceans have been 
traversed, and new continents, and islands, and people, 
and plants have been discovered; and thus enlarging the 
bounds of human knowledge. And then comes the tele- 
scope, spreading out before the mind the immensity of 
the empire of God, such as was never dreamed of before. 
In former times it was supposed that there were no more 
than a thousand stars, (for this is about the number seen 
by the naked eye,) but now we are told that eighty mil- 
lions have been brought within the range of human vision, 
by this powerful, this wonderful instrument, invented by 
the ingenuity of man. Next comes the microscope, 
which adds greatly to our knowledge, bringing to view a 
new universe. This language may seem strange, but it 
literally true. Yes, bringing to view a new universe 
of minute existences, so exceedingly minute, that it 
requires no less than ten thousand of them to occupy 
the space of a grain of sand ! And then comes the 
printing-press, that noble invention, which has served 
to cheapen knowledge, and diffuse it far and wide. Time 
was when a Bible would cost five hundred dollars; now 
it can be purchased for less than fifty cents ! Time was 
when it was the work of years ; now it can be done in 
less than an hour ! The American Bible Society alone 
strikes off twenty thousand copies of the sacred Scrip- 
tures in a single day! And the whole Testament can be 
printed in less than one minute ! This invention of 
printing has marked a new epoch in the history of thq 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 



363 



world, and has served to spread light and increase knowl- 
edge far, very far beyond anything that our progenitors 
ever dreamed of. What "an immense number of new- 
books are continually coming from the press ! And as 
for newspapers, periodicals, and tracts of every kind, they 
are now being scattered over the wide world like the 
leaves of autumn, when the trees of the forest are swept 
by the mighty winds of heaven. Even children now are 
supplied abundantly with reading matter, rich and varied. 
Even so late as when I was a child, the grand total of a 
library for those in tender years amounted to (so far as 
known to me) not more than some six or eight little 
books ; now many Sabbath-schools have at least one 
thousand volumes each. One of the prophets, referring 
to the increasing of knowledge in the latter days, says, 
"a child shall die a hundred years old." Now we can 
understand what must have appeared very strange to 
those in former times; it is now literally true, that one 
dying in childhood, in this day of increasing light, may 
know more than many a one who died, in former times, 
bowed down under the weight of a hundred years. 

The steam-power, too — what miracles has that wrought! 
What a new impulse has it given to printing, travelling, 
manufactures, and improvements of every kind! Now 
we are in possession of the secret of performing by one 
hand what required a hundred in days gone by. More- 
over, we have now the blind man's book. Did our fathers 
ever hear of such a thing as teaching the blind to read ? 
Our Saviour enabled the blind to see by miraculously 
opening their eyes; but now, without a miracle, they are 



364 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

taught, not to see, but to read. And is not this the increas- 
ing of knowledge in a new quarter? And besides the 
blind man's book, have we not the diving-bell, an inven- 
tion of these latter ages, by which a man can go down 
into the deep, and bring up treasures long buried there. 
*»And have we not the submarine telescope, by which a 
seaman standing upon the deck of a vessel in the midst of 
the ocean, can look down into the blue water, and see dis- 
tinctly the bottom of that vessel, even the head of every 
nail and every crack : — and the submarine battery, by 
which a man on shore, and hidden from view, can in a 
moment of time blow up a ship of war, and even a whole 
fleet, forty miles distant, by an unseen hand. You have 
witnessed the wonders of the daguerreotype. Time was, 
when, if you wished your own likeness taken or that of 
a friend, there must be at least three sittings : two hours 
the first day, two hours the second, and one the third. 
Now, one sitting may suffice, and that for less than one 
minute ! Had a person predicted this thirty years ago, 
he would have been esteemed a visionary and a madman. 
Moreover, by the inventive power of man, our streets can 
now be lighted without oil, and our houses without can- 
dles. Did our fathers know how this could be done ? 
Ice is now made a staple, and straw converted into paper. 
Who ever heard of such a thing fifty years ago ? In 
medical science, and mental science, and geological 
science, how many new facts have been established, and 
how many wonderful discoveries have been made ! But, 
not to enlarge, there is that "wonder of all wonders" — 
that great wonder of the age — the magnetic telegraph ! 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY, 



365 



Who ever heard of mortal man's annihilating time and 
space ? And yet here is an invention which, to all intents 
and purposes, does it ; for, in the conveyance of a message, 
there is no perceptible difference between one mile and 
ten thousand, A person in New York may converse 
with his friend in St. Louis with the same ease and in the 
same time that he could converse with his friend, in 
writing, in the same room. Nay, matters can be so 
arranged, that a person in St. Louis, some twelve or 
fifteen hundred miles distant, may be reading the message 
of the President at half after eleven o'clock, that very 
message which is not to be read in Washington City until 
the clock there strikes twelve. This seems not only like 
annihilating space, but outstripping time itself. Only 
think; mortal man, so to speak, grasping the lightnings 
of heaven, which play around the throne of the Eternal 
God, and converting them into swift messengers to go and 
come at his command, saying: "Haste, my servant, carry 
this message to my friend beyond broad rivers and 
towering mountains fly, swifter than the wind! In less 
than a moment, bear my message— in less than a 
moment, bring his answer back!" How astonish- 
ing is this ! How it spreads knowledge ; and how it 
proves its mighty increase! When I think upon the 
wonderful inventions, discoveries, developements, and 
improvements of these latter times, I am amazed. It 
would seem, that we are coming too near the throne of 
the Eternal ; that we have actually intruded ourselves 
into Iris presence-chamber, and are within the precincts of 
the place where archangels dwell, Is not the inventive 



366 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



power of man, of the present age, like the pride of 
Nimrod, who, in the loftiness of his aspirations, said, 
" Come, let us make a tower, whose top shall reach unto 
heaven." At any rate, I have thought that if the mind of 
man, now so luminous, should explode, it would be in a 
shower of sparks, astonishing the world with the bril- 
liancy of its corruscations. The prophet, some twenty- 
five hundred years ago, referring, as we verily believe, to 
the very age in which we live, uttered the prophecy, 
" Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be 
increased." How clear must have been the visions of 
him who could predict such things ! Everything was as 
if then passing directly and in full view before his eyes. 
Surely the most skeptical must now bow before the 
power of divine truth. Surely the most obstinate must 
admit that "prophecy came not in old time by the will 
of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost." 

And now, if these prophecies are true, must not all 
others recorded in the same sacred volume bear the same 
sacred character? Permit me simply to remind you of a 
few : — " Say ye to the righteous, it shall be well with 
them ; wo to the wicked, it shall be ill with him/' " He 
that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, but he that 
believeth not, shall be damned." " The hour cometh when 
all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son 
of God, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, 
to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, 
to the resurrection of damnation." Let then the right- 
eous rejoice, for heaven, with all its joys, is just at hand I 



SCRIPTURE PROPHECY. 367 

Let the sinner tremble, for hell, with all its sorrows, is 
not far off! Another moment, and the Christian may 
be in paradise with God and his angels ! Another mo- 
ment, and the Christless soul may be in tophet, with 
devils and damned spirits ! Awake, one ! awake, all ! 
for eternity is nigh, even at the door, and the night com- 
eth, when no man can work ! Let no one trifle with 
matters of such high import! The Bible is true, and all 
its declarations may assuredly be depended upon. The 
argument for the inspiration of the sacred volume drawn 
from prophecy* is only one amongst many, but is of itself 
convincing ; and the man who is an unbeliever, in view 
of the evidence drawn from this source, would not be- 
lieve though one rose from the dead. Permit me, also, 
to guard you against infidelity. As this is a day of 
abounding iniquity ; as intemperance, profane swearing, 
Sabbath-breaking, gambling, and other kindred vices, 
are, alas! too common in our midst, we may expect infi- 
delity, at least in some of its forms, to keep pace with 
these thing; for, as one well remarks, "Infidelity is a dis- 
ease of the heart, not of the head." Let the morals be 
corrupt, and the sentiments will soon become loose. Let 
the heart be infected with vice, and infidelity will forth- 
with spring up, like green scum upon the surface of a 
foul and stagnant pool. Beware of infidelity! It wars 
against reason and common sense, against God and the 
best interests of man. Beware of infidelity! It teaches 
that man is not responsible to his Maker for his actions, 
however atrocious they may be, and that in the end it 
will be as well with the gambler and the pirate as with 



368 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

the man of virtue and religion. Beware of infidelity! 
It curses the body, and curses the soul ; it curses you in 
time, and it will curse you through all eternity. Beware 
of infidelity ! It will poison the stream of public morals, 
and public happiness : it will rob you of your dearest 
hopes and sweetest comforts; it will rob you of the favor of 
God; will hang around your dying bed the curtains of 
gloom and despair. It will lay your body in an unbiest 
grave, and your soul " in the urn of everlasting death !'* 
I have heard the saying, "cry havoc, and let slip the 
dogs of war;" but he who encourages^ infidelity, in a 
more fearful sense cries M havoc !" and lets slip, not the 
dogs of war, but the spirits of Pandemonium, and the 
demons of the pit ! Young man, listen to me : I repeat 
once more what I have said before — your Christian 
mother is right — the Bible is true ! and if you die with- 
out the repentance which it enjoins, and the Saviour 
which it reveals; mark my word, in the great day of judg- 
ment you will wish you had never been born I 



SERMON III. 

NATURE, SINFULNESS, AND CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 
He that beliereth not shall be damned.— Mark xvi. 16. 

This is one of the most awful declarations found in all 
the sacred volume: and it assumes a character of peculiar 
interest and solemnity, when we recollect, I. By whom 
this declaration was originally made; and, 2. The cir- 
cumstances in which it was made. 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 369 

By whom was this declaration originally made? It 
was not by an enemy, but by a Friend — the sinner's best 
Friend — even the loving tender-hearted Saviour himself. 
Yes, it is none other than the blessed Jesus, who died for 
sinners, and before whose judgment-seat we must all 
one day appear, who said, " He that believeth not shall 
be damned." And when did he utter this awful lan- 
guage ? In the most interesting circumstances which 
can well be imagined. It was in his last interview with 
his disciples. He had died on the cross ; he had risen 
from the tomb, and he was now just about to ascend to 
heaven. His disciples are around him, and there is the 
cloud, like a chariot, hovering over him, and angels 
waiting to attend him to his home in. the sky. In these 
peculiarly interesting circumstances, our great Redeemer 
gave his parting charge : — -J Go my disciples, into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature, He that 
believeth and is baptized, shall be saved" — here we have 
the overtures of mercy for those who accept of the way 
of salvation proposed in the gospel — '■*> but he that be- 
lieveth not, shall be damned." Here we have solemnly 
announced the certain doom of those who reject it. 
Remember, these are among the very last words which 
fell from the lips of our blessed Saviour, when on earth, 
and they may well be depended upon , for who can sup- 
pose that He, whose love for our race was stronger than 
death, would use language unnecessarily harsh ? or who 
can for a moment suppose that our Saviour would utter 
vain words, especially in circumstances of such peculiar 
interest and solemnity ? No, my friends, the declaration 



37o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



in our text may not be lightly regarded : it presents a 
truth of tremendous import, and must stand forever — 
" he that believeth not, shall be damned." 

The nature, the sinfulness, and the consequence of un- 
belief, will now engage our attention. 

And, First. The nature of unbelief. And here we 
need not enlarge. Unbelief is the opposite of faith. Now, 
as faith is giving credence to the testimony of God in 
general, having special reference to the mediatorial 
character of Christ, as the world's last and only hope, 
unbelief is the rejection of that testimony. And this may 
be either speculative or practical — speculative, as when 
a man looks upon Christianity as a farce, and the Bible as 
a cunningly devised fable. Unbelievers of this class are 
certainly embraced in the anathema of the text, " he that 
believeth not, shall be damned." But unbelief may also 
be practical, as when a person professes to believe that 
the Bible is the word of God, and yet is not influenced by 
the Bible; or, as when a man admits that Christ is a 
Saviour, and yet receives him not as such ; admits that 
Christ is the only Saviour, and yet treats him as if he 
were no Saviour at all. In this case, the understanding 
assents, but the will rebels; the head is right, but the 
heart is wrong. There is no want of evidence, but a lack 
of disposition. In both cases tne unbelief is substantially 
the same. Christ is rejected; and as without him there is 
no Saviour, the condemnation of the one, of course, must 
be as certain as the condemnation of the other. So, 
then, the anathema of the text is of great compass, and 
ma'- ■ we reference to some — alas ! I fear, to many at 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 37 1 



this very time. " He that hath ears to hear, let him 
hear." 

Second. The sinfulness of unbelief. It is manifest, 
from the whole, tenor of the Bible, that whether we can 
fully understand the matter or not, there is something in 
the sight of God exceedingly offensive and hateful in the 
sin of unbelief. No sin, it would appear, calls down 
heavier wrath than this. Why was it that a whole 
generation of Jews were cut off from the promised land ? 
The Psalmist says, that with that generation God was 
not well pleased, and sware, in his wrath, that they should 
not enter into his rest ; and, lo ! their carcasses fell in the 
wilderness, and their bones were made to bleach in the 
desert, a fearful monument of God's wrath for some sin 
committed ! And what sin ? Their strivings, their rebel- 
lions, their idolatries ? No. Why, then, was it that they 
were not permitted to enter the promised land ? The 
apostle tells us, in express terms : "They could not enter 
in, because of unbelief." And when he said this, he 
seized the opportunity to give needful warning to those to 
whom he was writing. " Take heed, brethren," says he, 
" lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief;" 
and again, V let us labor to enter into that rest, lest any 
man fall after the same example of unbelief." Some 
eighteen hundred years ago, the Jews were cut off from 
their land, amid circumstances which indicated special 
divine wrath. Our Saviour predicted that there would be 
many signs and wonders and fearful sights connected 
with the destruction of Jerusalem, such as should cause 
men's hearts to tremble and fail within them. And the 



372 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



account which Josephus gives is most remarkable and 
full of terror. He tells us that a meteor, having the 
appearance of a broad-sword, was seen suspended over 
Jerusalem, I think, for the space of three years; that 
voices were heard in the clouds, as of horses and chariots 
rushing to battle; that the priests who ministered in the 
holy place, overheard voices in the holy of holies, (where, 
mark ! none but the high-priest was permitted to enter, 
and he only once a year,) saying, " Let us go hence ! 
let us go hence !" And one thing, which occasioned a 
greater panic than anything else, was this :— A person 
came from the country, presenting a singular appearance, 
and uttering strange sounds. "A voice!" cried he, "a 
voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from 
the four winds ! Wo to Jerusalem ! wo to the temple !' 
By order of the magistrates, he was arrested ; he was 
scourged. Josephus affirms that his very bones were 
laid bare ; but he ceased not uttering the same mysterious 
cry — " A voice from the east ! a voice frum the west ! a 
voice from the four winds ! Wo to Jerusalem ! wo to the 
temple! wo to myself!" And as he uttered these last 
words — wo to myself! — a stone from the besieging army 
struck him, and he fell dead ! Moreover, the historian 
tells us, that when Titus, the Roman commander, had 
gotten within the walls of the city, and had looked upon 
the scene of unprecedented distress spread before his eyes 
he could not refrain from tears ; and, looking up to hea- 
ven, he called God to witness that he (Titus) had not 
brought these calamities upon the Jews ; and added, that 
it was so evident that God was angry with them, that he 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 373 



was afraid not to punish them, lest God should punish 
him. And whereas, on former occasions, they were 
driven away from their land and sent into captivity, in 
some cases for seven, and twelve, and twenty, and even 
seventy years, now they have been cut off, for, lo I these 
eighteen hundred years. Now, the question is, why were 
they thus cut off? The answer is given by the apostle 
himself: "Because of unbelief they were broken off." 
Again, as on a former occasion, the apostle seizes the 
opportunity to make an improvement of the matter: 
" Thou standest by faith," says he ; " be not high-minded, 
but fear." There is a passage in our Saviour's conversa- 
tion with Nicodemus that is very remarkable, and much 
to the point: "He that believeth on him, (that is, on 
Christ,) is not condemned, but he that believeth not, is 
condemned already." And why ? Mark the reason given : 
Because he hath not believed in the name of the only 
begotten Son of God." Just as if the sin of unbelief were the 
only'sin which condemns the sinner. And in our Saviour's 
last consolatory address to his disciples, we find another 
passage equally remarkable, and, if possible, stronger, and 
yet more to the point : " And when he (the Spirit) is come, 
he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of 
judgment." Mark ! of sin, because they believe not in me ! 
Here it would appear that the grand design of the mission 
of the Spirit into our world was to produce a conviction of 
sin. And what sin. Of unbelief. — " Of sin, because they 
believe not on me." 

Is this the only sin which men commit ? or are other 
sins not heinous in the sight of God ? This is not the 



374 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



idea intended here to be conveyed. There are many 
other sins which men commit, and the Bible stamps 
them as sins very odious and offensive in the sight of 
God, but unbelief is the greatest of all : it is that which 
embraces all others, and, so to speak, swallows them up. 
Here is the shadow of a cloud passing over the earth. It 
is distinctly seen ; but the shades of night come, and 
that shadow is lost, being swallowed up in the deeper 
gloom of the midnight hour. Even so, lying, and fraud, 
and drunkenness, and Sabbath-breaking, and profane 
swearing, and all other sins which men commit, heinous 
as they are, yield to the more heinous and more soul- 
destroying sin of unbelief. This is emphatically the sin, 
the crying sin, the damning sin! Those of you who re- 
spect the Bible are ready to say, It really does appear, 
from the Scriptures, that it is even so ; — but, you may be 
ready to add, "But, sir, I must confess, after all, I cannot 
see wherein consists this exceeding sinfulness of unbelief. 
I do not know what makes it so peculiarly odious and 
offensive in the sight of God." Now this is the very 
point before us — the sinfulness of unbelief. If I mistake 
not, it chiefly consists in this, that it strikes a blow at 
God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth ; 
would strip the ever blessed God of all of his perfections, 
and would lay his honor and his throne in the dust.* 

I. Unbelief strikes a blow at God the Father, Almighty, 
Maker of heaven and earth, pouring contempt upon his 
wisdom. The wisdom of God appears in the garniture of 
the heavens, in the structure of our bodies, in changing 
* Vide Charnock on the Divine Attributes. 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 375 



seasons, in the alternations of day and night, in ten thou- 
sand things ; but when the wisdom of God is spoken of, 
these things are not once alluded to. The plan of 
redemption— -it is that which looms up. It is that which 
seems to fill the whole range of vision, human and divine. 
Before it, all other objects seem to vanish away, as 
twinkling stars before the rising sun. This is called 
" the wisdom of God " the wisdom of God in a mys- 
tery," and " the manifold wisdom of God." Into this, it 
is said, the " angels of God desire to look." They are 
represented as stooping down from their lofty seats in 
glory, and endeavoring, with holy wonder and delight, to 
search out this chief display of the wisdom of God ; and 
when Paul refers to it, he breaks out in this language : 
" O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the 
knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his j udgments, 
and his ways past finding out !" And well might he say, 
" O the depth !" for no line of human or angelic intellect 
can fathom it. For, to save the sinner, and yet maintain 
the honors of the divine government, it is requisite, not 
to harmonize jarring elements in the world of nature, but, 
to harmonize conflicting attributes in the bosom of the 
God of nature. Mercy pleads for pardon — Justice 
demands punishment. "Spare the sinner!" cries Mercy. 
" Cut him down," says Justice, " why cumbereth he the 
ground ?" " O forgive ! forgive !" Mercy weepingly 
implores — stern Justice frowns, and thunders out, "Sat- 
isfaction or death!" Now if Mercy prevails, Justice is 
humbled ; if Justice triumphs, the sinner is lost for ever. 
But in the cross of Christ all the perfections of God are made 



376 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



to triumph, as if they were one attribute — triumph glorious- 
ly ! An infinite sacrifice satisfies Divine justice, and the 
infinitely rich fruits of that sacrifice satisfies Divine mercy. 
This is the thing into which angels desire to look. This 
is the thing which causes Paul to exclaim, " O the depth !" 
It is this which shall wake up the sweetest and the loud- 
est paeans in the world of glory. It is this which through 
the mighty roll of everlasting ages shall fill the great tem- 
ple of God Almighty with sounding praise ! Now this 
plan, by which God can be just, and yet justify the 
ungodly who believe in the Son of his love — the plan by 
which is presented to us in the Scriptures as the " chief 
display of the wisdom of God," all glorious and divine- 
unbelief rejects— treats it as though it were unworthy of 
any regard. Its language is this : " Paul admires it ; angels 
desire to look into it ; and God himself glories in it, as 
his master-piece of wisdom — but it is all foolishness ! I 
see nothing in it to excite any admiration — it deserves no 
regard !" Ahd thus unbelief pours contempt upon the 
wisdom of God ! And is not this a sin, a crying sin, a 
damning sin ? " He that believeth not, shall be damned." 

II. Unbelief strikes another blow at God the Father, 
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, pouring contempt 
upon his love. God has given innumerable proofs of his 
kind regard for our race, but our blessed Saviour points 
out one, as greater than all others put together. " God," 
said he, "so loved the world that he gave his only begot- 
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not per- 
ish, but have everlasting life." God might have made a 
brighter light than that which creates our day ; he 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 377 



might have made loftier angels, and a greater universe 
than he has made ; but (I speak it with reverence) I see 
not how an infinite God could have made a greater gift 
than the gift of his Son — his only begotten and well be- 
loved Son ! Here, you perceive, is a draft, not upon the 
resources of natnre, but upon the bosom of the God of 
nature. O what love was this, that God should so love 
our lost and ruined world as to give — not treasures of 
silver and gold — not worlds, nor angels — but his Son, his 
only begotten and well beloved Son, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him might not perish, but have everlasting 
life ! What is the language of John in relation to this 
matter ? " Herein is love," says he, " not that we loved 
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be a pro- 
pitiation for our sins." Note the phrase, " herein is love:" 
as if he had said, Are you looking out for some com- 
manding proof of love ? Look at the cross of Christ ! 
Look at the plan of redemption ! Here it is ! This is 
love, indeed ! " Love divine, all love excelling." And 
again, the same apostle says, in the language of perfect 
admiration : " Behold ! what manner of love the Father 
hath bestowed upon us !" As if he had said, Ye angels, 
behold ! Ye winged messengers that compass creation, 
behold ! and do thou, O man, behold ! and say, was there 
ever love like this ! But this love, this wondrous, match- 
less love, unbelief slights ; looks upon it with cold in- 
difference ; turns away from it with contempt, as if it 
were not worthy of a single thought ; as if it were not 
worthy of the slightest regard. And call you this no sin? 
What ! to treat with contempt the chief display of the 



378 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

goodness of God ! to reject his gift, his dearest and most 
valued gift ! Is this nothing ? I knew once a little 
orphan boy, a motherless child; an elder sister, whom h^ 
loved, was displeased with him. The poor little orphan 
boy was much distressed, and could not be happy with- 
out being restored to his sister's love. Gathering ail the 
little money which he had been accumulating for a long 
time, amounting to about fifty cents, he laid it all out for 
a little matter which he thought would please his sister, 
and sent it to her as a kind of peace-offering, or token of 
his desire to be on good terms with her. This gift was 
rejected. It was sent back, and contemptuously dashed 
upon the floor at his feet. It almost broke his heart. 
This little orphan boy had laid out all his little store in a 
present, sent to propitiate his sister, whom he loved, and 
his present was rejected. I repeat it, it almost broke his 
heart. I was that little orphan boy. I know what it is 
to have a present rejected ; to have my love despised. 
In some respects, this case is in point. God loved the sin- 
ner, and sent his Son — gave his Son to die for him. Yes, 
Christ was the gift of God — so to speak. Christ was 
God's present to our race. But this gift, this present, 
is rejected. This expression of God's love is despised. 
Is not this a sin ? Is it not a crying sin ? Is it not a 
damning sin ? " He that believeth not shall be damned." 

III. Unbelief strikes another blow at God the Father, 
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, pouring contempt 
upon his sovereignty. As Creator and King, God has an 
unquestionable right to legislate for the creatures which 
he has made. He has legislated for man. In the matter 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 379 

of salvation, God, in his wisdom and love, has devised 
and revealed a plan whereby he will bestow forgiveness 
and salvation upon those who accept of the Saviour whom 
he has provided. And he has positively deelared that 
this is the way of salvation, and that there is no other. 
Now, unbelief leads the sinner to reject this way, and 
seek salvation, in some other — by his own works of 
righteousness. It may be, by his prayers, his deeds of 
charity ; it may be by a moral life, or by penances, or 
pilgrimages, or the absolution of priests, or the interces- 
sion of saints. This is all disobedience. It is high- 
handed rebellion. It speaks this language: God may leg- 
islate for the angels, but he shall not legislate for me. 
He may fix the way of salvation for other men, but he 
shall not be allowed to fix it for me. I will not regard 
the will of God — I shall not submit to his authority. His 
sceptre shall not be extended over me. I will have 
nothing to do with the Saviour of his providing — I 
choose to be saved in my own way. And is not this 
striking a blow at the standard of the King of heaven and 
earth ? And is this nothing ? Is not this a sin, a crying 
sin, a damning sin? "He that believeth not, shall be 
damned ? ' O God of mercy, make the sinner to know 
his transgression and his sin ! 

IV. Unbelief strikes another blow at God the Father, 
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, pouring contempt 
upon his truth. John says, he that believeth the record 
of God concerning his Son, has set to his seal that God is 
true ; but he that believeth not, hath made him a liar I 
What strong language is this, and in what an awful, 



38o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



frightful light, does it present the sin of unbelief! I have 
seen men excited ; I have heard them using towards each 
other harsh language — abusive language — and yet no ac- 
of violence was done ; but the moment one said to the 
other, " You are a liar" — that moment the blow was 
given. This is common, all the world over. I do not 
say it is right, but I do say, it requires grace, much grace, 
not to give the blow. And why ? In pronouncing a 
man a liar, you give him the grestest affront which can 
be given. You pronounce him vile, depraved, void of all 
moral principle, fit only to be scorned and despised. 
Now, sinner ! O thou who hast rejected Heaven's 
Darling, remember the words of the apostle, and let 
conviction seize upon you ! Yea, let fear come upon 
you, and trembling, which shall make all your bones to 
shake. By your unbelief you have dishonoured God! 
You have insulted your Maker! You have made the 
Ancient of days, the all-glorious, and ever blessed King 
of the universe a liar ! Be sure your sin will find you 
out. You and God must meet. And if you have com- 
mitted no .other sin on earth, in rejecting Christ, remem- 
ber, you have one sin resting upon your soul, which, if 
unrepented of, will press upon you as a mountain — will 
for ever sink you down. But this is not all. There is 
another aspect in which we may view the sin of unbelief, 
and one in which, if possible, it appears in yet darker 
colors, and more sinful still. 

V. Unbelief strikes a blow at God, the Son, pouring 
contempt upon his mediatorial diameter. Glorious and 
divine as God the Father is, there is a new loveliness and 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 38 1 



sweetness thrown around the second Person of the 
Trinity, as God, man, mediator; possessing in himself 
both the divine and human nature, he presents all the 
glories of a God, attempered with the milder beauties of 
a perfect man. Besides, he comes to us as an angel of 
mercy, a legate from the skies. He comes to accomplish 
a work of love and reconciliation ; to put away our sins 
by the sacrifice of himself. This invests his character 
with a new charm. This should make him unspeakably 
dear to every heart. Every individual, so to speak, should 
go out to meet him with joy; everyone should cordially 
receive him in the arms of a sweet appropriating faith. 
But unbelief treats him as if he had no beauty or excel- 
lence of character ; as if he were no mediator at all. 
Faith says, This is the rose of Sharon ; this is the one 
altogether lovely ! Unbelief says, No ; he is a root out 
of dry ground; he has no form or comeliness; nothing 
for which we should desire him ! And thus unbelief 
makes light of the great Redeemer, and pours contempt 
upon all the sweetness and loveliness of his mediatorial 
character. Martyrs of Jesus! what think ye of this? 
Angels of God ! is this no sin ? 

VI. Unbelief strikes another blow at God the Son, 
pouring contempt upon his mediatorial sufferings. A 
good man in distress presents a scene which affects the 
heart ; and if this distress should be on account of 
another, especially if it should be for our sake, how it 
would touch our hearts — haw it would wake up the 
strongest and the tenderest feelings in our bosom ! But 
more than a good man is here. It is God's eternal Son. 



382 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



And O! see him in the garden! He is in distress; his 
soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ! He prays; 
and what says he ? " O ! my Father, if it be possible, let 
this cup pass from me ; but not as I will, but as thou 
wilt!" He prays again with equal anguish. "And 
again, being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and 
his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood, falling 
down upon the ground!" And for whom is all this suf- 
fering and agony? Not for himself; not for fallen 
angels ; but for sinners of Adam's race. '* For thee, my 
soul, for thee /" Is not this enough to subdue the most 
obdurate soul ? The believer is conquered. Faith, 
with strong emotion, gazes upon her Redeemer, amid the 
sorrowful scenes of the garden. She follows him to the 
cross ; sees him nailed to the accursed tree ; she sees 
his precious blood gushing forth, streaming down, and 
smoking upon the mount ; she sees him insulted and 
reviled, even upon the cross; she witnesses his dying 
agonies; she hears his last prayer, " Father, forgive them; 
they know not what they do !" Clasping the cross, crim- 
soned with the blood of her incarnate God, she exclaims : 
— Here is the last hope of a dying world ! Here is my 
hope — my only hope / 

" My Lord, my Life, my Sacrifice, 
My Jesus, and my All !" 

But unbelief weeps not, feels not, cares not; looks on 
with cold indifference, is touched neither by the sorrows 
of the garden, nor the agonies of the cross; looks upon 
the whole as a picture or a farce ; and, at the very foot of 
the cross, can freely indulge in that sin which made the 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 383 



Saviour bleed and die. O! unbelief! unbelief! Thou 
makest light of that which might make angels weep! 
Thou makest light of that which caused the sun to with- 
hold its light; which rent the vail of the temple; which 
burst the rocks, and shook the earth, and heaved out the 
dead ! Thou hast slighted, thou hast rejected him who 
died for thee ! And is this no sin ? One of Pennsyl- 
vania's favourite sons, some years ago, heard me preach 
Christ, and him crucified. I noticed that his eyes were 
fixed upon me, and his feelings were stirred within him. 
Upon the conclusion of the service, I called at his office. 
(He was a lawyer.) I found him in great distress. I 
asked him what was the matter. " O, sir !" replied he, 
with strong emotion, " I feel that I am one of the greatest 
sinners that ever breathed the breath of life !" What is 
the sin which troubles you most? "Sir," said he, "X 
have rejected the Saviour thirty years. I do not see how 
it is possible for me to be forgiven !" And well may this 
remind us of the words of our Saviour: " When the Spirit 
is come, he will reprove the world of sin, because they 
believe not on me !" Ah ! my brethren, the rejection of a 
dying Saviour! — this is emphatically the sin, the crying 
sin, the damning sin ! " He that believeth not, shall be 
damned." But, to crown the matter, once more. 

VII. Unbelief would rob the Saviour of his mediatorial 
reward\ "For the joy that was set before him," says 
the apostle, " he endured the cross, despising the shame," 
What joy was this ? The joy of leading many sons and 
daughters to glory. The joy of snatching millions, 
unnumbered millions, from hell, and landing them in 



384 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



heaven. The joy of seeing them made happy by his 
sufferings; happy for ever and for evermore! For this 
joy, which was set before him, which was promised in the 
counsels of eternity — for this joy, he endured the cross, 
despising the shame. This is a beautiful and tender 
thought. It would seem that this idea was immediately 
and constantly before the mind of the Saviour, amid all 
the sufferings of the cross, and the ignominy thereof — 
that he was not suffering in vain ; that it was for the 
accomplishment of a great and good object ; for the sal- 
vation of a ruined world. Now, unbelief says, This ob- 
ject shall not be attained. This joy he shall not have. 
He shall return to the skies as one defeated, without one 
trophy — without one of Adam's race" to sing his praise. 
God, the Father, had said, " Therefore will I divide him a 
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with 
the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto 
death ! and he was numbered with the transgressors, and 
he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the 
transgressors." But if unbelief prevails, this reward will 
not be his. He will not " divide a portion with the 
great," nor 7 the spoils with the strong." In vain will he 
have borne the sin of many, in vain will he have made 
intercession for the transgressors. All that he has done 
and suffered for the redemption of man will be in vain. 
Having undertaken to carry out the scheme of redemp- 
tion, he will have failed. Having entered the conflict 
with the powers of darkness, they will have triun^heoL 
The Son of God will have been defeated — the gr^ plan 
of redemption will have proved a faijm*v„ T>*> fcde *f 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 



385 



salvation must roll back; the whole human family must 
go down to the pit, and the curtain of despair must hang 
around them forever i Yes, my brethren, this is the 
direct tendency of unbelief; the natural workings of this 
great evil — this damning sin. No wonder, then, that 
these were amongst the last words which fell from the lips 
of the ascending Saviour — " He that believeth not, shall 
be damned." 

Having pointed out, as clearly as we could, the nature 
and the sinfulness of unbelief, we are now to show, 

VIII. The consequence of unbelief. On such a subject 
we would not speak flippantly; We would speak with 
great solemnity; for it is one of tremendous import. We 
can do no better than earnestly to request and entreat you 
to muse upon the language of our text; the words, the 
last parting words of our blessed, and ascending Saviour 
- — " He that believeth not, shall be damned." And what 
is it to be damned ? It is to have all the sins you have 
ever committed fastened upon your poor soul forever. 
It is to have no part in the first resurrection, but 
to be imprisoned in the tomb until the second 
blast of the trump, louder than a thousand thunders, and 
more awful than the hoarse crash of falling worlds, shall 
call you up to the resurrection of the lost! What is it to 
be damned? It is to be placed upon the left hand of the 
Judge in the great day of accounts? It is to be grouped 
with murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers, 
with thieves, with robbers, with pirates, with liars, with 
drunkards, with all the mean and all the vile, and all the 
abominable gathered from earth and hell, and with them 



386 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



to hear the dreadful sound, " Depart !" What is it to be 
damned ? It is to go away into everlasting punishment, 
into the blackness of darkness, into the pit that has no 
bottom, and into the fire that is never to be quenched ! 
What is it to be damned? It is to be cut off from God 
and all his angels, from the ransomed and all our pious 
friends — from heaven and all its joys. It is to be deprived 
*of all peace and all comfort; of all hope and all expecta- 
tion. It is to be given over to all the thraldom of sin, to 

all the thrillings of remorse, to all the agonies of despair. 

It is to be ruined and undone. Lost! lost! lost forever! 
O ! who can bear the thought of being damned forever? 
Shall any lift up their eyes in torment? Shall any have, 
in the world of woe, to send up the sad and mournful 
lamentation — "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, 
and I am not saved ?" Heaven forbid! But are there 
not here some impenitent, unbelieving sinners ? They 
are the very ones who are exposed to the anathema of 
the text. O! careless mariner upon the sea of life, 
breakers are ahead ! O ! thoughtless traveller to great 
eternity, a fearful pit is before you ! Danger is nigh, 
even at the door ; and do you ask, What is to be done ? 
Would to God that this cry was coming up from all parts 
of this congregation ! It is the pentecostal cry. It is the 
cry of the three thousand who were convicted and con- 
verted on the day of Pentecost. And was not this, too, 
the anxious inquiry of the Philippian jailor : " O sirs, 
what must I do to be saved?" It has been put, by many 
in every age, and has resulted in peace and joy. Is any 
disposed to propound this question ? God be gracious 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF. 



387 



to all such ! There is hope for all ! — aye, and even in 
the very verse whence our text is taken ; for, if we find it 
there written, " He that believeth not, shall be damned," 
we find it there also written, " He that believeth and is 
baptized, shall be saved." Thank God you need not per- 
ish. O listen to the sweet words of the Saviour again : 
" He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved." 
How cheering! how charming is the voice; how sweet 
the tidings are ! 

There is another thing which is most encouraging to 
the sin-sick soul, and that also is in close connection with 
our text. In our Saviour's last charge, which contains 
our text, he gave commandment to his disciples to go 
into all the world and preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke xxiv. 47. Only 
think — Jerusalem ! The very place where his murderers 
dwelt ; the very place where they crowned him with 
thorns ; where they smote him upon the cheek, where 
they spit in his face, where they nailed him to the cross, 
and where they gave him vinegar and gall to drink in the 
hour of his deepest agony ! and where, after his death, as 
he foresaw, the unfeeling soldier thrust his spear into his 
side ! As if he had said, " Go, my disciples, and preach 
that gospel which breathes good will toward all mankind, 
which opens the gates of paradise to a dying world- 
preach that gospel first to my enemies! Go, tell those 
priests and pharisees, those scribes and elders, who 
longed for the time to come when they should feast their 
eyes with my streaming veins, and regale their ears with 
iny dying groans— -go, tell them that they never so 



388 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



thirsted for my blood as I have desired their salvation. 
Go, find out those soldiers who plaited a crown of thorns 
and put it upon my head — tell them that I, by my 
streaming blood, have bought for them crowns of glory, 
and no rugged thorns shall be found in those crowns of 
glory ! Go, my disciples, and tell that man who spit in 
my face, how freely Jesus can forgive ! Go, my disciples, 
and find out those who nailed me to the cross, and tell 
them that I am now willing to -put under them my 
pierced hands, and raise them to thrones in the highest 
heavens, and no nails shall be driven into their hands ! 
Go, my disciples, and search for that man who gave me 
vinegar and gall to drink in the hour of my deepest 
agony, and tell him that I freely offer him the cup of 
salvation, and no drop of vinegar or gall shall be found 
in that cup ! Go, my disciples, and find out that soldier 
who thrust his spear into my side, and tell him that there 
is a nearer way to" my heart. Blessed Jesus! who can 
resist thy matchless grace, thy dying love I It is 
enough ! We see that thou art able and willing to save 
the chief of sinners, even the vilest of the vile ! O ! that 
every sinner would respond, "It is enough! blessed 
Redeemer ! glorious Saviour ! I will reject thee no 
more ! * I yield, I yield ; I can hold out no longer — By 
dying love compelled, I own thee conqueror !' I repent 
in dust and ashes ! I take thee now on thy terras, on any 
terms. '* Here, Lord, I give myself away, 'tis air that I 
can dol'" 



CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF* 



3B9 



SERMON IV, 

JUSTIFICATION. 

therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our "Lord 
Jesus Christ : by whom also we have access, by faith, into this grace wfeereia 
we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God -^Rom. v. 1, & 

No truth is more certain than this, that we are sinners; 
yea, that all have sinned, and have come short of the 
glory of God, for the apostle John says, "If we say that 
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is 
not in us/' But another truth, equally certain is this 
that the great God with whom we have to do, is 
pure and holy— cannot look upon sin with allow- 
ance, and has positively declared that he will, by no 
means, clear the guilty* These things being so 
a question here presents itself, Who can be just with God? 
This is a question of immense importance to our race, 
and one which, without divine illumination, I verily be* 
iieve neither man nor angel can solve. This very sub- 
ject the apostle handles in the preceding context. After 
affirming that God hath concluded all under sin, that 
every mouth might be stopped, and all the world become 
guilty before God, and that, consequently, by the deeds 
of the law no flesh could be justified in his sight— after 
showing that man, by reason of sin, was in himself abso* 
lutely ruined and undone, he proceeds to speak of the 
plan of justification proposed in the gospel, and winds up 
with these emphatic words: "Therefore we conclude that 
a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law," 



390 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



Having met an objection or two, which he saw would be 
urged against the doctrine, he then, in beautiful language, 
lays before us some of the rich blessings which accom- 
pany or flow from a state of justification with God. We 
purpose now to present : 

I. The great doctrine of Justification ; and 

II. Some of the blessings connected with it. 

I. The great doctrine of Justification. — We hesitate not 
to pronounce it a great doctrine. In the whole range of 
theology there is none of more vital importance than 
this, for it is nothing less than the mode of the sinner's 
acceptance with God, and a mistake here may be fatal. 
It becomes us, then, diligently to attend to this matter, 
particularly as error on the subject is abroad, and these 
are backed by some of the strongest feelings of human 
nature. It is no uncommon thing to hear a remark of 
this kind : " I know that I am a sinner ; I know that I 
have done some evil deeds, but I have also done some 
things, many things, that are good, and God is merciful." 
The idea is this : the sinner purposes to balance his good 
and evil deeds, and hopes that the good will preponder- 
ate, and upon this he bases his hopes cf heaven : or, if he 
has any misgivings on the subject, and fears that his 
good deeds may not outweigh his evil, he trusts that the 
breath of mercy will turn the scale in his favor, adding 
as much of the righteousness of Christ as may be suffi- 
cient to make up what is wanting in his own. Believe 
me, this is not Heaven's plan. No such idea falls in 
with the great doctrine of grace taught in the sacred 
volume ; and no such patch-robe righteousness will be 



JUSTIFICATION. 



391 



seen within all the precincts of the heavenly world. Even 
in Protestant lands, where the Bible is more commonly 
read, error abounds. The natural pride of man leads 
him astray. That self-righteous spirit, so deeply seated 
in the human bosom, causes many to embrace notions on 
the subject which are not scriptural, which are not true. 
And with regard to papal lands, the whole system taught 
in relation to auricular confession, penance, the merits of 
saints, purgatory, and the like, is directly calculated to 
mislead souls, and cause them to embrace fatal error. 
Indeed, this error is brought to a point. It is made to 
assume a palpable and authoritative form, as may be seen 
in the decrees of the Council of Trent, which, of course, 
are binding upon the whole Roman Catholic world. 
The decree of the article of justification is in substance 
this: Whoever shall affirm that a man is justified by faith 
alone, let him be accursed. Martin Luther, being still 
alive, and remembering the words of the apostle Paul, 
"therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, 
without the deeds of the law," and also this language, 
" not of works, lest any man should boast," Martin 
Luther, I say, filled with holy indignation, grasped his 
pen, and besides other language, wrote these words in a 
very solemn protest, " I, Martin Luther, an unworthy 
preacher of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, thus 
profess and thus believe, that this article, that faith alone, 
without works, can justify before God, shall never be 
overthrown, neither by the Emperor, nor by the Turk, 
nor by the Tartar, nor by the Pope, with all his cardinals, 
bishops, sacrificers, monks, nuns, kings, princes, powers 



392 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



of the world, nor yet by all devils in hell This is the 
doctrine I teach. In this I will abide. Amen." And 
to this, I trust, all are ready to respond Amen, for believe 
me, in the sight of a holy God all our righteousnesses are 
as filthy rags, and none but Jesus can do helpless sinners 
good. The poet has well said, 

" The best obedience of my hands 

Dare not appear before thy throne* 
But faith can answer thy demands, 

By pleading what my Lord hath done.' 5 

But let us proceed to the matter in hand. According 
to the Scriptures the term Justification has a forensic 
character, and simply means the declaring or pronounc- 
ing a person righteous according to law ; that is, ac- 
quitted, not exposed to the penalty. If," says Moses, 
"there be a controversy between men, and they come into 
judgment, that the Judges may judge them, then they 
shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked." 
And now, as to condemn a person in a court of law on 
earth, is not to make that person guilty, but simply to 
pronounce him so in the eyes of the law, even so, in the 
reverse case, to justify a man is not to make him just, 
but simply to pronounce him so according to law — not 
exposed to the penalty. 

Justification is either legal or evangelical. If a man 
could be found on earth who had never sinned, he might 
be justified in away strictly legal; for, no law having been 
violated, no penalty has been incurred ; but as according 
to the Scriptures, all have sinned, so, according to the 
Scriptures, by the deeds of the law no flesh can be 



JUSTIFICATION. 



393 



justified in the sight of God. In these circumstances, if 
there can be no expedient devised for satisfying the 
claims of the law and justice of God, the sinner's case is 
hopeless, his doom is sealed, and he is lost forever ! But 
now comes the Bible plan of justification, which stamps 
this volume with infinite value, and gives it pre-eminence 
over every other — the Bible plan of justification, which 
is as a beam of light in a dark day, or the sight of a 
habitation to one bewildered and lost. And what is this 
plan ? justification by the righteousness of another — ■ 
even the Lord Jesus Christ, who was wounded for our 
transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities — who, his 
his own self, bare our sins in his own body upon the tree. 
How numerous are the passages of Scripture which teach 
the great doctrine of the atonement, or the substitutionary 
sacrifice of Christ What is the language of Paul ! " He 
was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be 
made the righteousness of God in him." And what is 
the language of the apostle John ? " Herein is love, not 
that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his 
Son to be a propitiation for our sins." And what says 
the Saviour himself ? "I am the good shepherd; the good 
shepherd giveth his life for his sheep/' And again : 
"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down 
my life for the sheep." And if you note the song of the 
redeemed in heaven, you will find that they all, unitedly 
and with loud voices, ascribe their salvation to him who 
loved them and washed them from their sins in his own 
blood. This is the name by which he is known to every 
true member of the Church on earth and in heaven, 



394 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



41 The Lord our Righteousness." Yes, it is in and through 
Christ alone that we can find acceptance with God. We 
can make no satisfaction to the violated law and justice 
of God. Christ is our only hope — without him we perish, 
but united to him we are safe — clothed upon with the robe 
of righteousness 

« God will pronounce the sinner just, 
And take the saint to heaven." 

But how are we to get this justifying- righteousness? 
How are we, so to speak, to make it our own — for all 
legal purposes our own ? There is no difficulty. The 
Bible is very clear upon this subject Notice the 
language of our text*- " Therefore, being justified by 
faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ." This falls in precisely with what is said 
in another place: "Christ is the end of the law for 
righteousness to every one that bcieveth," And again: 
" To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that 
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteous- 
ness," The main idea is this: Faith appropriates the 
righteousness of Christ ; it is the hand which lays hold 
of it, and puts it down to our account. In other words, 
the Spirit, working faith in us, links us to Christ, in our 
effectual calling; so that, in the eyes of the law, we are 
one with him. If he be accounted righteous, we shall be 
accounted righteous too ; and if he be accepted, we, for 
his sake, shall be accepted also ; for, according to the 
Scriptures, the union between Christ and believers is 
represented by similitudes peculiarly striking and strong. 
Is he the vine ? Believers are the branches. Is he the 



JUSTIFICATION. 



395 



head ? Believers are the members. Is he the bride- 
groom ? Believers are the bride. And the apostle, in 
a certain place, uses language still stronger, when he 
says, We are the members of his body, and of his flesh, 
and of his bones. How intimate is this union ! how 
indissoluble ! Hence the triumphant language of the 
apostle : " Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's 
elect? It is God that justifieth: who is he that con- 
demneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is 
risen again, who also maketh intercession for us. Who 

o » 

shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall tribula- 
tion, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, 
or peril, or sword ? Nay, in all these things we are more 
than conquerers, through him that hath loved us. For 
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord/' 

This naturally leads us to speak of the blessings con- 
sequent upon a state of justification v/ith God. But that 
we may be better prepared to solace ourselves with 
these things, it will be proper to notice, as the apostle 
did, some objections which have been made to the doc- 
trine "of salvation by faith, without works. 

It has been objected — I. That it militates against the 
doctrine taught by James. And we confess, at first view, 
the objection appears to have much force ; but when 
examined, we find it has no force at all. What is the 
language of Paul ? " Therefore, we conclude that a man 



396 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law." And 
what says James? "Ye see, then, brethren, how that a 
man is justified by works, and not by faith only." I 
admit that there is a discrepancy in the language, a 
downright contradiction, if you please, and yet the two 
apostles are harmonious in sentiment. They must be, 
for they were inspired by one and the same Spirit, and 
there is no difficulty in reconciling their language. It is 
no uncommon thing for different persons to use different 
and very opposite language, and yet mean the very same 
thing. For example: A and B are speaking about you. 
A says you are a mortal man, and must soon die. B 
says you are immortal, and can never die, but must live 
forever. Do these individuals differ in sentiment in rela- 
tion to you? Not at all. But in speaking about you, 
they have not reference to the same thing. When A 
said, you are a mortal man, and must soon die, he had 
reference to your body. When B. said you are immortal, 
and must live forever, he had reference to your soul. 
Now, although the language is contradictory, yet really 
there is no diversity of sentiment. They believe the 
very same thing. So in the case before us. The lan- 
guage of the two apostles is contradictory; but mark, 
they are not speaking about the same thing. Examine 
the case and you will find it is even so. Paul is speaking 
about justification before God, James about justification 
before man. In Paul's Epistle to the Romans, 3d chap- 
ter, 19th and 20th verses, we find these words : "Now we 
know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to 
them that are under the law : that every mouth may be 



JUSTIFICATION. 



397 



stopped, and all the world be found guilty before God. 
Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh 
be justified in his sight." Paul, you perceive, speaks of 
justification in the sight of God. But by reference to 
James ii. 15, 16, and 17, you will find that this apostle is 
speaking of a different matter altogether. " If a brother 
or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one 
of you say, Depart in peace, be ye warmed, and be ye 
filled ; notwithstanding ye give them not those things 
which are needful to the body ; what doth it profit ? 
Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works : 
show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show 
thee my faith by my works." Paul speaks of justification 
in the sight of God ; James of justification in the sight of 
man. Paul tells us how a person may become a Chris- 
tian by faith ; James tells us how a person may prove 
himself to be a Christian by works. There is no dis- 
crepancy. The objection is annihilated. But it is ob- 
jected, 2. That this doctrine of justification by faith alone, 
without the deeds of the law, is a dangerous doctrine. 
It makes good works of no account. It nullifies the law, 
sets it aside as a dead letter, and makes it void. It is 
remarkable that the apostle adverts to this very objection, 
and shows that it is entirely groundless. " Do we, then, 
make void the law, through faith ? God forbid ! We 
establish the law." And what makes this more remark- 
able is this: This method of anticipating objections, and 
putting them down, is very common in the Scriptures. 
Thus in regard to the doctrine of regeneration, when our 



398 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



Saviour said, " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a 
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," 
the objection urged by many is represented as having 
been made by Nicodemus, " How can these things be?" 
and put down thus: " Marvel not that I said unto thee, 
Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it 
listeth, and thou nearest the sound there but canst not 
tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth ; so is every 
one that is born of the Spirit" Take another case. 
Some persons deny the doctrine of the supreme divinity 
of Christ. On what ground ? Mystery. Now what 
says Paul ? " Without controversy, great is the mystery 
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh." The 
apostle admits the mystery, but insists upon it that the 
doctrine is true, notwithstanding, without controversy, 
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in 
the flesh. Again, some persons object to the doctrine 
of election. The apostle was aware that the doctrine 
would not be liked by some ; and therefore, after pre- 
senting the doctrine very strongly in these words, "There- 
fore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and 
whom he will he hardeneth," he himself immediately 
starts the objection : " Thou wilt then say unto me, 
Wherefore doth he yet fLid fault? for who hath resisted 
his will ?" meets it in this way : " Nay, but O man, who 
art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing 
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made 
me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of 
the same lump to make one vessel to honor, and another 
to dishonor ?" So also with regard to the doctrine of 



JUSTIFICATION. 399 

the final perseverance of saints. Do any object that the 
doctrine cannot be true, because they have known some 
to die in sin who were once converted ? See how John 
meets that objection : " They went out from us, because 
they were not of us ; but they went out, that it might be 
made manifest that they were not all of us. This being 
the usual way of meeting objections, it is used in the case 
before us. " Do we, then, make void the law through 
faith ? God forbid ! Yea, we establish the law." 

I might, if it were necessary, prove what the apostle 
affirms. Just take this view of the matter: The sinner is 
awakened ; he finds that he has broken God's righteous 
law ; his sins come rolling over his soul. They are a * 
burden too heavy for him to bear. He at first seeks re- 
lief in his own way; he goes about from duty to duty, 
from ordinance to ordinance, from resolution to resolu- 
ti n ; thus endeavoring to establish his own righteousness, 
but all in vain. He finds no peace; the burden is upon 
him still. Now he begins to think his case is a peculiar 
one ; fears that his day of grace is over, and there is 
no hope for him. When just ready to despair, Christ 
is presented as a needful, suitable, all-sufficient Saviour 
The sinner is enabled, by faith to receive him cordially 
as he is offered in the gospel. And now his burden is 
gone; and now, Christ being formed in his heart, the 
hope of glory, love to the Redeemer becomes the ruling 
passion of his soul, and 

" 'Tis love which makes our willing feet 
In swift obedience move." 

Aye, there is nothing like love to rouse the soul, and stir 



400 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



it up to all holy and cheerful obedience. Hence the lan- 
guage of the apostle, " The love of Christ constraineth 
us ;" and the language of a certain martyr, " I cannot 
argue for my Saviour, but I can die for him." 44 Do we 
then make void the law through faith ? God forbid ! 
Yea, we establish the law." 

The great and precious doctrine of justification having 
been thus explained and vindicated, we proceed to lay 
before you, 

II. Some of the blessings which accompany or flow 
from a state of justification with God. I. " Being justN 
fied by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord 
" Jesus Christ." O what a blessing this is ! Eliphaz cer- 
tainly thought it of great value ; hence his language to 
Job, " Acquaint now thyself with God, and beat peace 
with him ; thereby good shall come unto thee." Before 
the sinner embraces the Saviour in the arms of an appro- 
priating faith, there is a controversy between him and his 
Maker. He is an enemy to God by wicked works — yea, 
a child of wrath and heir of hell. All the feelings of his 
unrenewed nature are arrayed against God, and all the 
perfections of God are arrayed against him. But 
now, united to Christ by faith, there is a change, both in 
the sinner's state and condition. The enmity of his heart 
is slain; the rebellion of his will is subdued. Vanquished 
by grace divine, he who once rebelled against his Maker 
now rebels no more, and he who was once the sinner's 
adversary, is now his adversary no longer. Peace is 
made. A work of reconciliation is accomplished ; and, 
so to speak, a covenant of amity is ratified on earth and 



JUSTIFICATION. 



40I 



in heaven. Everything is new and pleasant now. The 
sinner's state is changed; his character is changed; his 
views, his feelings, his prospects, all are changed. He 
enters, as it were, into a new world, and all is peace now. 
The stormy cloud is gone, and the rainbow of promise 
spans the heavens. No lurid lightnings flash, no pealing 
thunders roar. Sinai's terrors are all over and gone. 
No voice of alarm now; no sentence of condemnation; 
no fear of wrath any more ! This is a great matter. Only 
think — peace with God, the great God, against whom we 
have sinned, and before whose judgment-bar we must one 
day appear ! What is like it — to be compared with it ! I 
have seen peace made amongst men. I have seen those 
who long were as variance reconciled. I have seen them 
giving to each other the right hand of fellowship, in 
token of cordial reconciliation and mutual love. It was a 
lovely sight. It was worthy of an angel's visit from the 
skies. When, upon the close of the Revolutionary strug- 
gle, the intelligence was received that preliminaries of 
peace were signed in Paris, what a wave of delight 
passed over the whole land ! The doorkeeper of Con- 
gress Hall, we are told, swooned with joy. What bon- 
fires, what illuminations, and what rejoicings, everywhere! 
every eye sparkled ; every tongue was loosed ; every face 
was dressed in smiles, and every heart thrilled with rap- 
ture ! O, it was a blessed scene ! It was a glorious 
affair! But peace with God! how infinitely more 
delightful, more joyous, must this be! Peace with him 
who holds our lives in his hand, our souls, our all ; who 
can raise us to heaven, or sink us down to hell ; who can 



402 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



make us happy, or miserable to all eternity. Peace with 
God! what joy on earth and in heaven! The tidings are 
carried to the world above; heaven rings jubilee; saints 
and angels tune their harps anew, and paeans loud and 
sweet are heard throughout all the realms of glory ! And 
well may it be so, for an immortal soul is snatched from 
ruin ; the fires of the pit are quenched ~ the great God of 
heaven and earth becomes the sinner's Friend ! — yea, 
smiles with ineffable sweetness upon him, and for him 
prepares a sparkling crown, a throne of glory, and joys 
which shall never end ! And, to make this glorious 
peace better still, it is settled upon a sure foundation — it 
is through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is purchased by his 
death, it is inspired by his Spirit, and guaranteed by the 
blood of his cross. If this peace were dependant upon 
anything in us, it would be most precarious ; but no, 
thank God, we have this peace through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who is ever worthy, the same yesterday, to-day, 
and forever! O! how will the possession of this peace 
sweeten the bitterest cup, and brighten the darkest sec n ! 
How it will soften the dying hour, and cause the Chris- 
tian to exult and triumph amid the solemnities of the last 
closing scene ! But this is not all. 2. Being justified by 
faith, we have not only peace with God, but we also have 
access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. We are 
not only pardoned, we are accepted. We are permitted 
to come into the presence-chamber of our God, with all 
the feeling of a child, and all the assurance of Divine love. 

" Our faith shall Abba, Father, cry, 
And thou the kindred own 1" 



JUSTIFICATION. 



A rebel may be pardoned by his prince, and yet not be per- 
mitted to come into his presence. Absalom's crime in 
slaying his brother Ammon was forgiven by David, his 
father, but he must not see his face. " Let him not see 
my face," said David. But here is the blessedness of a 
state of justification with God ; it not only brings us into 
a state of peace wth God, but nearness to him — yes, per- 
mits us by faith to draw near unto God, with all holy 
reverence and assurance, as children to a father, able and 
ready to help us in every time of need. O blessed state ! 
O glorious privilege ! How precious to the patriarch 
Jacob when, fearing the wrath of Esau, he turned aside 
and prayed this prayer: " O God of my father Abraham, 
and God of my father Isaac, deliver me, I pray thee, from 
the hand of Esau, for I fear him, Lord, lest he come and 
smite me, and the mother, and the children." How pre- 
cious to king Hezekiah, when sick, and admonished by 
the prophet to prepare for death, he turned his face to the 
wall, and prayed to the Lord, and wept sore, and was 
heard in that which he feared. And how precious is this 
privilege to the people of God in every age— what time 
afflictions come, and the waves of sorrow begin to roll ! 
Yes, what though the sunshine of prosperity be clouded, 
and the dark night of affliction environ us on every side ; 
what though the dew of death be upon our cold brow, 
and the shades of death be upon our faded eye ; what 
though we be in the very midst of the dark valley, and 
the waves be rolling at our feet — if God, as our covenant 
God and Father, be with us, we have a sweet solace — we 
are safe — we are happy ! for our days of mourning are 
ended, and heaven is at hand. 



404 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

But this leads me to speak of a third benefit connected 
with a state of justification with God. Not only have we 
peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ — not only 
have we also nearness of access by faith into this grace 
wherein we stand, we are permitted to rejoice in hope of 
the glory of God. This was what Moses so much desired. 
And Moses said unto God, " I beseech thee, show me thy 
glory." And the Lord said unto Moses, " I will make all 
my goodness to pass before thee, and I will proclaim the 
name of the Lord; and it shall come to pass, while my 
glory passeth by, I will put thee into a cleft of the rock, 
and will cover thee with my hand, for there shall no man 
see me and live." But in heaven there shall be no occa- 
sion for the cleft of a rock, nor for the covering, for there 
we shall see God face to face — we shall the king in his 
beauty — shall see him amid all the splendors of that 
eternal world of glory ! O, how rapturous will this vision 
be, and how transforming ! for there, we all, as with open 
face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, shall 
be changed into the same image from glory to glory, as 
by the Spirit of the Lord. Brethren! bright prospects 
are before the believer; great things are in reserve for 
him. A crown of glory, a throne of glory, a weight of 
glory, an eternal weight of glory, an exceeding and eter- 
nal weight of glory ! Yes, child of God, hear it, and let 
your heart leap for joy ! When you reach your eternal 
home, you will have glory above you, and glory beneath 
you, and glory around you ! You will swim in glory as 
in the sun-light of heaven ! All these things are in 
reserve for you, and you may rejoice in the sure hope of 



JUSTIFICATION. 



405 



them. Yes, you need not wait until the heavens are 
rolled together as a scroll. You need not wait until the 
voice of the archangel shall announce that your corona- 
tion day is come. No, nor wait even until this mortality 
shall have put on immortality ; you are now permitted to 
anticipate things to come ; you are even now permitted to 
rejoice in hope of the glory of God. O ! who would not 
be a Christian ? Sinner, would you ? Then come to 
Christ. He calls, he bids you come. O, come now I 
God help you to come ! Amen ! 



SERMON V. 

NAAMAN. 

Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than afl the waters ol 
Israel ? May I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away 
in a rage.— 2 Kings v. 12. 

The account given of Naaman in this chapter is truly in- 
teresting and instructive. It furnishes an exact delineation 
of the human character, and is a complete developement 
of the pride and carnality of the natural, or unrenewed 
man. Naaman was a great man, in the popular sense of 
that term. He had been raised to a high military station, 
and had justified the confidence reposed in him. Lead- 
ing forth the hosts of the king of Syria, he marched 
against the enemies of his country. He was victorious, 
and returned to Syria crowned with laurels, and greeted 
with the acclamations of his grateful countrymen. The 



406 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



king himself honored him; and he was acknowledged 
by all, as the political saviour of his country; because 
that " by him the Lord had given deliverance to Syria." 
Crowned with laurels, and enriched with spoils, he stood 
upon a proud eminence ; the boast of his country, the 
admiration of all! Yet there was one thing against him; 
one thing to humble the pride of his heart — he was a 
leper. This leprosy was a loathsome disease. It was a 
certain breaking out upon the body, and was of such a 
nature as to mar the beauty of the person, and to make 
him an object of loathing to those around : insomuch, 
that by a law of Moses, the leper was required to be sep- 
arated from the congregation, as unclean, unfit to mingle 
with society : and we find that this law was rigidly 
enforced in every instance of leprosy. The highest 
characters in the nation were not exempted from its oper- 
ation. Hence, you may recollect that when king Uzziah 
was smitten with leprosy in the house ot the Lord, he was 
not only put out of the house of the Lord, but was driv- 
en from his palace ; made to inhabit a separate house ; 
and when he died, he was not buried in the royal sepul- 
chre, but in a certain field belonging to the kings — ■ 
because he was a leper ! This being the case, we may 
well suppose that few wished to be Naaman, with all his 
wealth, his splendor, and renown. Indeed the Syrian 
conqueror would, no doubt, himself most willingly have 
exchanged a palace for a cottage, could he only in this 
way have been delivered from the leprosy which cleaved 
to him. Whilst you see Naaman seated under a gilded 
canopy, amid all the insignia of wealth and honor, per- 



NAAMAN. 



407 



haps no other feelings are awakened in your bosom than 
those of loathing and disgust. You would not be a Naa- 
man, with all his pomp, with all his riches, and with all 
his renown — and why ? Because he is a leper ! But 
now, whilst you turn away from a leprous Naaman — 
whilst your very heart sickens at the thought of his impur- 
ities — O tell me, may there not be some here, covered 
with a leprosy of a more loathsome, more dangerous 
kind ? I mean the leprosy of sin. And what though 
this leprosy should not cut off the leper from the congre- 
gation and society here below — mark my word, if 
uncleansed, it must, it will, cut him off from a better con- 
gregation, and a more glorious society, in a better world 
than this ; for, 

" Those holy gates forever bar 

Pollution, sin, and shame ; 
None shall obtain admittance there 

But followers of the Lamb." 

In speaking further from the words of our text, I wish 
to notice some points of resemblance between a leprous 
Naaman and an awakened sinner; and I am free to say, 
I do not think that the points of resemblance are very 
exact. 

I. Both are diseased. — Naaman was a leper, so also is 
the sinner; and although the leprosy of the one was of a 
natural or physical character, and the leprosy of the 
other, moral or spiritual, yet in several particulars they 
strongly resemble each other. Was the leprosy of Na- 
aman polluting ? So also is the leprosy of sin. Indeed, 
there is nothing more polluting than sin. It mars all 



4o8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



beauty, and makes the subject thereof loathsome and 
abominable in the sight of a pure and holy God. Hence 
the language of Isaiah, " Wo is me, for I am undone, for 
I am a man of unclean lips ; for mine eyes have seen the 
King, the Lord of Hosts." And hence, also, the language 
of the man ofUz: " I have heard of thee, by the hearing 
of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore, I 
abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Was the 
leprosy of Naaman destructive of happiness ? There is 
nothing in all the universe more destructive of all happi- 
ness than sin. It is that which has ruined angels, and 
ruined man ! It is that which has occasioned every tear 
of sorrow, every sigh of grief, and every pang of agony ! 
It is that which has withered everything that is fair, 
blasted everything that is good, and made bitter every- 
thing that is sweet ! It is that which has dried up every 
spring of comfort, and rolled a tide of sorrow far and 
wide ! Was the leprosy of Naaman a deadly disease, 
not to be cured by any mortal power ? So, also, is the 
leprosy of sin. It strikes its roots deep into the centre 
of the soul ; generates therein a worm which shall never 
die ; and kindles therein a fire never to be quenched. It 
spreads disease and death over the whole moral man ! 
Yes, and the awakened sinner is sensible of his spiritual 
maladies. He remembers the words of the prophet: 
"The whole head is sick; the whole heart is faint. 
From the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no 
soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying 
sores." The understanding is darkened, the heart is 
hard, the will rebellious, and the conscience seared. 



NAAMAN. 



409 



Everything is wrong! There is a deep and total de- 
pravity ! If there be some good affections, they are 
mixed up with sin; if some amiable traits of character, 
they are like blocks of marble, and beautiful columns in 
a house not plumb; or, like the mechanism of a watch 
which has been magnetized, and therefore not fit for use. 
Something must be done ! There must be some reno- 
vating process — aye, and something accomplished by a 
Divine power, or the sinner's case is hopeless. He is 
ruined and undone forever ! But this leads me to remark, 
II. Both Naaman and the awakened sinner are miserable. 
They have trouble and distress — really can enjoy nothing. 
Naaman, crowned with laurels, and enriched with spoils, 
wanted nothing, it seems, to make him hapyy, but a 
healthful and vigorous body. Wanting this, the man is 
wretched. Ah ! what is all the pomp of royalty — what 
all the splendor of wealth, and the delicacy of viands, to 
one unfitted to enjoy them ? Even so it is with the 
awakened sinner. It may be fair and serene without ; it 
is not so within, for the wicked are as the troubled sea 
which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 
A sudden death ' alarms him; awful dispensations of 
Providence force painful convictions upon his mind ; or, 
perchance, conflicting passions rage within, and make 
him wretched. Now, too, it may be, the sunshine of 
prosperity is darkened ; the clouds of adversity are 
lowering around. The sinner feels, or thinks he feels, 
the mud-walled cottage trembling, breaking down, and, 
alas ! for him, he has no building of God ; no house 
made without hands, eternal, and on high ! And now, 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



also, it may be, conscience wakes to sleep no more. 
Remorse for the past throws his thoughts upon the 
future ; worse dread of the future strikes them back upon 
the past ! He turns, and turns, and finds no ray. Does 
the clock strike, he is ready to cry out with the despair- 
ing, dying Altamont : "O timef time! it is fit that thou 
shouldst thus strike thy murderer to the heart! How 
art thou fled forever! A month, a day; I ask not for 
years, though an age were too little for the much which 
I have to do !" Or, say, he is no despairing, dying 
Altamont. Is he an awakened sinner ? he is not at rest, 
he is not happy, he cannot be ! In the possession of 
riches, of honors, of "all the world calls good or great," 
" his heart distrustful asks, if this be joy ?" There is a 
burden upon his soul, the burden of sin, a burden too 
heavy for him to bear. Amid the pursuits of the day, 
his mind is thoughtful ; amid the shades of the night his 
eyes are wakeful. He sighs ! He groans inwardly. He 
knows not what to do. He knows not where to turn, is 
ready to ask, What must I do? Is ready to cry out, 
God be merciful to me a sinner ! O yes, the awakened 
sinner is not happy ; he is miserable ; he feels wretched. 
He is perhaps, almost ready to wish he had never been 
born. He leels that he is a sinner, and knows not how 
to get rid of his sins. He knows he must die, and his 
conscience tells him that he is not prepared to die. He 
believes that after death comes the judgment, and alas! 
what will become of him in the judgment day! He is 
ready to exclaim, O that I were a Christian ! I would 
give the world only to have the Christian's hope ! This 



NAM A AN. 



leads me to notice another point of resemblance between, 
a leprous Naaman and an awakened sinner. 

III. Both are willing to go far and do mwh to obtain a 
cure — are willing to do anything, if they can obtain the 
object desired, in their own way. To be delivered from 
his leprosy, Naaman was willing, for a season, to with- 
draw from the splendors of a court, the adulations of his 
flatterers, and the caresses of his countrymen: — he was 
willing to come all the way from Syria to Samaria — 
moreover, he was willing to give ten talents of silver, six 
thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment; 
nay, he was willing to do almost anything in the world 
if by that means he could get rid of the leprosy which 
cleaved to him. Just so it is with the awakened sinner; 
he is willing to go far and do much to obtain salvation. 
If he were required to perform penances, or go on a pil- 
grimage to Mecca, or brave the fury and storm of battle; 
— if he were required to bestow all his goods to feed the 
poor, and give his body to be bur ed — or leap down the 
falls of Niagara, to secure salvation, I believe he would 
willingly do it! — anything if he can only be permitted to 
have his own way, and purchase salvation. O, how the 
awakened sinner does long to ride to heaven in a chariot 
of his own! How he does long to wash his robes, and 
make them white, by the labor of his own hand ! A 
legal spirit is deeply seated in his bosom* It is a part of 
his unrenewed nature ; hence, every sinner, when awak- 
ened, immediately goes about to work out his own right- 
eousness. He goes from duty to duty, from ordinance to 
ordinance, from resolution to resolution; thus endeavor- 



412 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



ing to establish a righteousness of his own. Forgetting 
the words of the apostle, " By grace are ye saved, through 
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God : 
not of works, lest any man should boast :" forgetting, I 
say, all this, he labors hard to merit salvation, and thus 
be his own Saviour. But, as a person may go one hun- 
dred leagues, and not reach a place only one mile distant 
— because he does not go in the right way — so many a 
sinner, greatly desiring to obtain salvation, has done 
much to obtain it, and yet has failed. And why ? 
Because he has indulged in a legal spirit — has sought 
salvation by the works of the law, and not by faith. This 
leads to another point of resemblance between the Syrian 
leper and the awakened sinner : 

IV. Both are at first dissatisfied with the remedy pro- 
posed. Although Naaman knew that his leprosy was a 
loathsome and deadly disease ; although he was willing 
to come all the way from Syria to Samaria; although he 
was willing to part with his talents of silver, and his 
changes of raiment ; although he was willing to do 
almost anything in the world to be cured of his leprosy ; 
yet, when he comes to the house of the prophet, and 
finds how simple and humiliating are the terms proposed, 
his pride is wounded, and he turns away in a rage. Mark 
the pride of the man! "What!'" says he, "surely the 
prophet does not know who I am ! Does he know that 
I am Syria's chieftain ? — that I have come in pomp and 
splendor, with my horses and my chariot — with my sil- 
ver and my gold ? Does he know that I am the favorite 
of my king, and the idol of my countrymen ? — that I am 



NAM A AN. 4T3 

& rich man, a great man, a man of war, and a mighty 
man ? And will he not come out and pay me that 
respect due to my rank and character? He sends a 
messenger to me! A messenger I I expected more 
than this ! Behold, I thought he himself would come 
out to me, and stand, and call upon the Lord his God, 
and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper! 
I thought he would cure me an a manner comporting 
with my dignity. But not so! He sends a messenger 
tome! And, pray, what is his message ? He tells me 
to go and bathe in Jordan seven times ! And why in 
Jordan? Does not that contemptible stream belong to 
that contemptible people, many of whom I have recently 
conquered, and led captive into rny own land? Then, 
why in Jordan ! I see what the man would be aiming 
at! He would have me dip in Jordan, and thus acknowl- 
edge myself indebted to the Jews for a cure ! I will die 
a leper first ! What ! such a man as I ! a rich man, a 
mighty man, the couqueror of the Jews— such a man as I 
am, acknowledge myself indebted to the Jews for a cure t 
Not I ! I'll die a leper a thousand times first ! ' Are not 
Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than ail 
the waters of Israel ? May I not wash in them, and be 
clean ?' " So he turned and went away in a rage, 
Wretched man ! he would be wretched, because he 
would be proud. He is a leper, a loathsome leper, and 
yet he would be proud. What an admirable picture of ; 
the natural, or unrenewed man ! How exact to the very 
life! The sinner is a leper; he knows that the leprosy 
of sin is upon him ; that it has spread over his whole 



4H REVIVAL SERMONS, 

moral system ; that it is working disease and death 
within him, and if not removed, will cut him off from 
heaven, and ruin him forever. In these circumstances, 
he asks with more or less anxiety, what he must do to be 
saved : and when told, " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 
and be saved" — O, these terms are too hard and unrea- 
sonable ! They are too simple — too humbling. They do 
not suit his proud and lofty soul; and he turns away in a 
rage. Yes, the heart of the sinner rises up against this 
way of salvation. Sometimes there is a positive enmity 
awakened, and the sinner would almost rather not be 
saved at all, than to be saved in a manner so galling to 
his proud and carnal heart. If salvation were put up at 
auction, he would bid^high for it; but to be saved in the 
way pointed out in the gospel — this does not suit his 
taste — does not fall in with the feelings of his unsanc- 
tified heart! He objects to this plan; he turns away 
from it, and would choose rather to be saved in some 
other way ; and when told, that " other foundation can 
no man lay, than is laid, which is Jesus Christ," he does 
not like it; and when it is pressed upon him, like Naa- 
man, he turns away, and is ready to say: "Are not 
Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damuscus better than all 
the waters of Israel ? May I not wash in them and be 
clean ?" In other words, May I not be saved in my own 
way ? 

It may here be proper to inquire why the sinner is not 
pleased with the plan proposed in the gospel. One 
might suppose that the sinner., feeling himself to be a 
sinner, and knowing himself to be exposed to the wrath and 



NAAMAN. 



415 



curse of God, would be willing to be saved in any way. 
But no, we find it a universal fact, that the sinner tries 
his own plan first, and never will fall in with Heaven's 
plan, until he finds that absolutely he must, or he must 
perish forever. The fact is well known ; the reasons may 
be these : 

First : The plan of salvation proposed in the gospel 
strips the sinner of his self-righteousness. All unconver- 
ted persons, but especially those who have been more 
moral and genteel, those who have moved in respectable 
circles, and who have been classed with the benevolent 
and honourable ones of the day, are apt to imagine that 
they have something to recommend them, even in the 
sight of God their Maker. The) 7 are sinners, no doubt, 
but not great sinners. Why ! what harm have I done ? 
I have injured no man ; I have defrauded no man ; I am 
no liar, no drunkard, no gambler ; I never swear, except 
when I am angry ; I pay all my debts ; I have respect for 
good ministers, and go to hear them, and, according to my 
means,I contribute to their support. Moreover, I am a 
member of the Bible Society, and give to many benevolent 
institutions; and now, pray, what lack I yet ?" The sum 
of the matter is this : the sinner begins with the confession 
that he is a sinner, and winds up with the belief that he 
is a pretty good man; and that his goods deeds entitle 
him, at least, to some consideration. But the gospel 
comes, and addresses him, not as a pretty good man, but 
as a sinner, a great sinner, a lost and ruined sinner. The 
gospel tells him that his heart is deceitful above all things, 
and desperately wicked ; that his whole life has been a life 



4i6 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



of departure from God; that his best actions have been 
mixed with sin ; and that, in the sight of his Maker, all 
his righteousnesses are as filthy rags ; that the prayer 
of the publican suits him as truly as any other, and that 
if he ever is saved, ik must be purely by grace, and in 
Christ alone. Now this does not fall in with his self- 
righteous feelings, .lie' wishes some respect shown to 
him, on account of his being rather better than some 
others; and is not williup; to be placed on the same platform 
with the vilest of sinners, and, like them, be saved entirely 
on the score of free grace. This in too humbling to the 
pride of his heart; and when he is told that it is even so, 
that in the sight of God he is also a great sinner, a vile 
sinner, and if ever saved, "Christ must be all his hope, 
and grace and all song;" this doctrine does not suit him ; 
and, when insisted upon, he is displeased, and is ready to 
say, What is the use of being so rigid and precise ? May 
not a more genteel and fashionable religion answer just 
as well, and a little better too ? " Are not Abana 
and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters 
of Israel ? May I not wash in them and be clean ?" So 
he turns away in a rage. Unhapy sinner ! He would be 
unhappy because he would be self-righteous and proud. 
O how hard it is for the sinner to feel that he is a sinner, 
a guilty, hell-deserving sinner ! How hard for him to 
realize that he lies low in the ruins of the fall! that in 
the sight of a pure and holy God he is vile, and if ever 
saved, it must be by grace, and grace alone! This is so 
galling, so humbling to his proud and lofty soul. Pricle 
is his very nature. O this pride, this abominable pride ! 



NAAMAN. 



417 



How it blocks up the way to heaven ! How it bars up 
against him the gates of glory! Now, permit me to say, this 
pride must be brought down — as it is written, "The Lord 
resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." 
And again, " The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, 
and the haughtiness of men shall be laid low ; and the 
Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." 

Secondly : Another reason why the sinner does not, at 
first, like the plan proposed in the gospel is this : On 
account of the self-denial which it exacts. 

" Deny thyself and take thy cross, 

Is the Redeemer's great command." 

Now, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it ? The sin- 
ner, perhaps, is young, and in the midst of all the pleasu- 
rable scenes of life ; and he is told, if he becomes a 
Christian he must deny himself ; he must renounce the 
world, with all its pomps and vanities ; he must come out 
from the world, withdraw from places of fashionable 
resort, give up all sinful pleasures ; break away from his 
irreligious companions, no longer go with them in the 
flowery and devious paths of sin. The spirit of the 
world he must not indulge in. He must repudiate its 
maxims, its manners, and everything that is opposed to 
the genius of a religion that is holy, and heavenly, and 
divine. He must not suffer " the lust of the flesh, nor the 
lust of the eye, nor the pride of life," to have dominion 
over him any more. He must set his face and heart 
against sin of every kind, whether fashionable or unfash- 
ionable, whether profitable or unprofitable, whether plea- 



4J.8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



surable or not. He must be willing to take the yoke of 
Christ upon him, and maintain a holy singularity ; aye, 
and " touch not, taste not, handle not" anything that is 
offensive to God, or polluting to the soul. This is not 
pleasant to the sinner. He is willing to give up some 
sins, but not all — some worldly amusements but not all. 
He does not like strict rules ; he does not like religious 
restraints. He wishes to go along with the world, at 
least to a certain extent. He wishes to have some lati- 
tude in the matter of worldly pursuits and pleasures, and 
he does not like to be so bound up as not to be permitted 
occasionally, to attend dancing parties in the evening, or 
pleasurable excursions on the Sabbath, or to resent inju- 
ries. He is much disposed to compromise matters ; to 
enjoy religion and the world too. But the gospel is stern 
and uncompromising. The sinner must give up every 
sin ; though dear as a right eye, he must pluck it out ; 
though dear as a right hand, he must cut it off. Yea, he 
must live denied to all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and 
live soberly, and righteously, and godly, in this present 
world. Now, thinks he, Is not this carrying matters a 
little too far ? Is not this fanaticism ? What is the use 
of being so strict and strait-laced? What is the use of 
being righteous overmuch ? May not a more genteel 
and accommodating religion answer just as well, and even 
a little better ? " Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of 
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ? May I 
not wash in them and be clean?" So he turns away in a 
rage. Unhappy sinner ! He would be unhappy, because 
he does not wish to deny himself of all ungodliness and 



NAAMAN. 



419 



worldly lust. He does not wish, entirely, to let go his 
hold upon the world. There is some darling sin, some 
beloved lust or idol, which he still wishes to enjoy ; and 
religion won't let him ; hence the warfare and the battle 
in the sinner's soul ! 

A third reason why the sinner does not, at first, like 
the plan proposed in the gospel, is the spirituality which 
it requires. I never knew an unregenerate man spiritual 
in all my life. He may take much pleasure in forms and 
ceremonies, but for that which is truly spiritual he has 
no relish. The homage of a lip-service, and the compli- 
ment of a bended knee, he may be willing to offer to his 
Maker, but his heart is not in the matter. His spirit is 
not devout, never truly and deeply devout. He runs 
over the surface of things, and greatly prefers the form to 
the power of godliness. He takes no pleasure in draw- 
ing near to God, nor is he much inclined to pray in secret, 
nor to worship God, who is a Spirit, in spirit and in truth. 
He has no objection, it may be, to converse about religion 
in general, and is willing to hear what he calls a good 
sermon, but he is not remarkably fond of plain, pungent, 
and practical preaching. If the minister has an agreeable 
person and a fine voice ; if he is graceful in his gestures 
and has a brilliant imagination ; if he can deal in flowers 
of rhetoric, or spread an intellectual treat before his 
hearers, he can listen to him, it may be, for one full hour. 
But let the man of God wax warm ; let him lay aside his 
beautiful things, and come down to the law and to the 
testimony ; let him speak about the claims of the law, its 
extent and spirituality; let him thunder out his anathe- 



420 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



mas against the sinner; let him repeat what is written, 
" Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things 
written in the book of the law to do them let him 
press the necessity of repentance and faith, and reiterate 
the language of the Saviour, " Except a man be born 
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," then the 
sinner's attention begins to flag. He begins to be restless 
and uneasy; thinks the sermon too long; and secretly 
resolves that he will come to hear that man no more. 
" I don't like these preachers these days," said a certain 
man who had been listening to an awakening preacher 
during a season of revival ; " I dont like these preachers 
these days, they make one feel so bad." Here the secret 
is revealed. Whilst the minister was dealing in beautiful 
things, and general things, the sinner's conscience was 
not disturbed ; but when the claims of the law were pre- 
sented, and the sinner's guilt and danger were made to 
start up before his mind, his carnal security was inter- 
rupted. He began to see that he was not quite so good 
as he had imagined himself to be. There was a sinking 
at his heart, an unwelcome peradventure that, notwith- 
standing all his fond and cherished hopes, his state might 
not be so safe after all. No, no ! he does not wish reli- 
gion to have full dominion over him. It will interfere 
with some of his pursuits and schemes, and he is much 
disposed to say, " Go thy way for this time ; when I have 
a convenient season I will call for thee." The sinner 
will, perhaps, read the Bible ; but he has no particular 
relish for the Psalms of David, nor Paul's Epistles. He 
greatly prefers the narrative and historical portions, ancj 



NAMAAN. 



421 



will speak in high terms of the Bible. " The Bible ! the 
Bible !" he will say ; " Why, sir, the Bible is the best 
book in the world ! The doctrines, how sublime ! The 
precepts, how perfect! The parables, how beautiful! 
There is the parable of the prodigal son, and the parable 
of the good Samaritan ; why, sir, these are some of the 
finest specimens of moral painting ever presented to an 
admiring world ! Sooner shall the seraph's voice loose 
its melody, than these parables cease to charm !" But 
now, should the person with whom he is conversing say, 
" It pleases me much, sir, to find that you think so highly 
of the sacred volume; but, as that book lays great stress 
upon the doctrine of the new birth, or regeneration, will 
you permit me to ask you one question ? Do you really 
think, sir, that you have experienced this spiritual change, 
without which no one can enter heaven ?" "I would be 
glad," replies he, " to know what you think about infants. 
Do you think all infants will be saved ?" Let the pious 
friend rejoin, "Sir, I believe that those who die in infancy 
are saved ; but I was not talking about infants. I was, 
with all respect, inquiring about your hopes for eternity # 
I greatly desire your salvation ; I wish you to dig deep, 
and lay a good foundation for eternity ; will you, therefore, 
permit me to press the question, Do you really think 
that you are a converted man?" "Can you tell me, sir," 
says he, " who was Melchizedek? Without father, with- 
out mother, without beginning of days or end of years ! 
Why, who can this be ?" 

My brethren, I suppose you understand this matter; 
the case is drawn from real life. The sinner is willing to 



422 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



talk on the subject of religion in a certain way, but he 
wishes not to have anything of a spiritual nature pressed 
upon him; nothing that will trouble his conscience, or 
lead to any great searchings of heart. The fact is, as yet, 
he is not a spiritual man, and therefore does not like 
spiritual things. He has no objection to the forms of 
godliness, but the power of it he understands not. When, 
therefore, he is told that he must worship God, who is a 
Spirit, in spirit and truth; that he must pray in secret; 
that he must remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; 
that he must live by faith, and walk by faith, and that he 
must see to it that his heart is right in the sight of God: 
in a word, when spiritual duties and exercises are insisted 
upon, and he is told that he must continually strive to 
have the Spirit of him who said, "Truly our fellowship is 
with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ" — these 
things, in his estimation, are hard requirements; they are 
distasteful to him; they are deemed unnecessary and 
puritanical; and when urged, he is much inclined to be 
offended, and turning away in disgust, his spirit utters the 
language of Naaman, "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers 
of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ? May 
I not wash in them and be clean ?" Thus the sinner is 
still unhappy, because opposed to the gospel plan. O ! 
how he longs to be saved in his own way! but the Bible 
will not permit him, and hence the struggles in the sin- 
ner's bosom — the warfare and the battle in the singer's 
soul. 

A fourth and last reason which I shall mention, why 
the sinner does not at first, relish the plan proposed in 



NAAMAN. 423 

the gospel, is this: It requires him to accept the Saviour 
cordially, in ail his offiees. In the sacred volume, the 
blessed Redeemer is exhibited in a great variety of char- 
acters, but in none does he appear as he should in the 
eyes of the sinner. Is Jesus a Prophet? What occasion 
for such a teacher to instruct him? "The light of 
reason," and the sentiments of the learned, he thinks, will 
answer just as well. Is Jesus a Priest? What occasion 
has he for such a one to intercede and atone for him? 
Tears of repentance, and moral reformation, he thinks, 
are all-sufficient to secure his pardon. Is Jesus Christ a 
King? The proud sinner wants no king to rule in and 
reign over him. His lips are his own — who is Lord over 
him! Is Jesus a Physician? To be sure, the sinner 
knows that there is a moral leprosy upon him, but he 
hopes the case is not so bad after all. Why may not the 
"balsam of tears" and the "opiates of morality" effect a 
speedy cure? And as for this Fountain opened in the 
house ol David for sin and uncleanness, what occasion is 
there for that ? "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of 
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I 
no 1 wash in them and be clean ?" So he turns away in 
a iHge. How exact are the points of resemblance be- 
tween Naaman and the awakened sinner! Surely this 
fragment of histqry was recorded, to present with liveli- 
ness, in a figure, the case of the awakened sinner, in 
every place, and in every age ! One point of resemblance 
more, and I have done. 

V. Both are shut tip to the remedy proposed ; it is that, or 
death!— -This is a most important point of resemblance, 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



and one which must never be forgotten. Both are shut 
up to the remedy proposed ; it is that, or death ! When 
Naaman, not pleased with the terms stated, turned away, 
observe, the prophet did not call him back ; the prophet 
proposed no compromise. Dip in Jordan seven times, 
and thou shalt be cleansed — refuse, and take the conse- 
quences. Even so, in the case of the sinner. Let him, 
by faith, cordially accept of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he 
shall be saved ! reject him, and the sinner must perish ! 
Positively, there is no other hope for him ! for nothing 
can be more clear and settled than this declaration, 
"There is salvation in none else;" and this, "Other 
foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus 
Christ." And in substance, this solemn truth was an- 
nounced by the Saviour himself, in his last charge to his 
disciples : " Go into all the world, and preach the gospel 
to every creature ; he that believeth and is baptized shall 
be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned." 
There has been no change, no compromise ; there never 
will be ! for the way of salvation, like the Saviour him- 
self, is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Hence 
the language of the apostle : " How shall we escape, if 
we neglect so great salvation?" There is no escape! 
The sinner who rejects Christ, rejects the only Saviour, 
the only remedy. He cannot be saved by his own works 
of righteousness ; he cannot be saved by the intercession 
of saints, nor purgatorial sufferings. Jesus Christ is the 
sinner's last and only hope, and if the sinner will not 
accept of Christ, he must perish ! he must die eternally ! 
he must be lost forever ! O that the sinner would believe 



NAAMAN. 



425 



this truth, this great Bible truth, and come to Christ 
before it is forever too late ! 

When Naaman turned away from the house of the 
prophet — when he resolved to return to Syria, and brave 
the consequences, rather than submit to terms so galling 
to the pride of his heart — in these circumstances, it so 
ppened that he had with him certain servants; who 
^eem to have had a great respect for their master; they 
; eatly desired that he might be cured ; and to them the 
opportunity of obtaining a cure seemed a precious one, and 
e terms by no means hard, or unreasonable: "And 
tney came near unto him, and spake unto him, and said 
My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great 
thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much, 
rather, when he saith unto thee, wash and be clean!" 
The argument was a good one; Naaman felt its force. 
He saw that he was a poor leper, and that pride was not 
ade for him ! He saw that his case was a desperate 
ie. He could not cure himself; — no one in Syria could 
emove his leprosy. Here was an opportunity, and one 
nly. Had he not better be a little humbled, than live 
and die a loathsome leper? Had he not better give up 
his lofty notions, and take the prophet on his own terms? 
Yes, the urgency of the case demands it; and the terms 
are not hard. Jordan is not far off, and how simple, how 
easy, to dip as the prophet directed ! Reason has 
triumphed ! the servants have prevailed ! the proud con- 
queror, the haughty Naaman yields ! ft Then went he 
down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, accord- 
ing to the saying, of the man of God, and his flesh came 



426 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



again unto him as the flesh of a little child, and he was 
clean !" Methinks I see him coming out of Jordan, 
cleansed of his leprosy — a new man ! How his eyes 
sparkle ! What joy beams in every feature of his coun- 
tenance ! He smiles ! He can scarcely believe in the 
change wrought! It is too good to be true! Surely it 
must be some sweet dream ! " Servants ! is it true? Is 
your master's leprosy gone ?" " Yes, master, gone ! It 
is just as the prophet has said. Your face is fair and 
beautiful ; your flesh is as the flesh of a little child !" * O 
blessed prophet ! O faithful servants ! O happy ! happy 
me !" Methinks I hear the Syrian exclaim — " Yes, blessed 
prophet! faithful servants! and happy! happy! thrice 
happy me ! What a blessed hour ! what a blessed change 
is this to me ! How I rejoice that my pride came down ! 
How glad I am that I came to the house of the prophet, 
and, especially, that I at length yielded to his terms ! 
This is the happiest hour of my life ; more happy than 
when, on the field of battle, I proved a conqueror ! more 
happy than when I was welcomed home, with greetings, 
and acclamations, by my royal master, and my grateful 
countrymen ! And now, when I return to Syria, and all 
shall see that my leprosy is cleansed, how with new joy 
they will greet me again ! Will not my wife be made 
happy ? Will not all my acquaintances be filled with 
wonder and delight ? Yes, the voice of joy and gratula- 
don will salute me on every hand ! Surely, we shall 
have a blessed jubilee !" 

Is there an awakened sinner here ? Is there one in 
this large assembly who is sensible that a spiritual leprosy 



NAAMAN. 



427 



cleaves to him ? Is he distressed by reason of his dis- 
ease ? Is he willing to go far and do much to obtain a 
cure ? And yet, is he dissatisfied with Heaven's plan of 
saving the sinner ? Is he in the indulgence of a proud 
and self-righteous spirit, endeavoring to work out his own 
salvation in his own way ? Is he unwilling to humble 
himself at the foot of the cross*— unwilling to be wholly 
indebted to Christ for salvation? If there be such a one 
present, I would act towards him as Naaman's servants 
did towards the Syrian leper. I would come near, I 
would reason, I would expostulate, I would entreat. My 
father! my mother! my friend ! O my fellow sinner! if 
the prophet — if Jesus Christ had bid you do some great 
thing, would you not have done it? How much rather, 
when he says, Wash and be clean ! If he had bid you tra- 
verse oceans and scale mountains ; if he had bid you 
brave the fury and storm of battle ; if he had bid you 
bestow all your goods to feed the poor, and give your 
body to be burned-— would you not have been willing to 
do all this, and even more, to secure your salvation? 
How much rather, then, when he says, " Come unto me, 
all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest." " Look unto me and be saved all ye ends of 
the earth, for I am God, and beside me there is none 
else." O how simple is the way of salvation ! " Believe 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." The 
sinner cannot save himself. He is not required to do it. 
A Saviour is provided, an all-sufficient and most glorious 
Saviour — one who is able and willing to save unto the 
uttermost, all who will come unto God through him. 



428 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



This blessed Saviour, having made the great atoning 
sacrifice, can bestow pardon and life upon the very chief 
of sinners, the vilest of the vile. Only let the sinner 
come to Christ, in all the overflowings of a penitent and 
believing heart, his leprosy will be healed. Awakened 
sinner! this is the way! How simple! Stumble not at 
its simplicity. How reasonable ! Then quarrel no longer 
with Heaven's plan. Again I say, if the prophet — if 
Jesus Christ had bid you do some great thing, would you 
not have done it? how much rather when he says, 
" Wash and be clean — believe and be saved." What 
hinders you ? Is it a self-righteous spirit ? Are you 
righteous even in your own account ? Has your con- 
science never troubled you ? Do you not know, 
do you not feel that you are a sinner — that your 
sins are numerous, and highly aggravated ? How 
do you propose to get rid of your sins ? They 
cleave to you; no mortal power can remove them. Be- 
lieve me, in the sight of a pure and holy God you would 
have no righteousness to boast of, even if you were as 
pure a man as Isaiah ; for he confessed that all his right- 
eousnesses were as filthy rags; and on a certain occasion, 
he cried out, " Wo is me, for I am a man of unclean lips, 
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for 
mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts !" But I 
ask again, what hinders the sinner from falling in with 
the gospel plan ? He is proud — too proud to be saved 
by free grace — too proud to be indebted to Christ alone 
for salvation. Proud ! and proud of what ? Of a rebel- 
lious will ? of a seared conscience ? of a sinful life ? of a 



NAMAAN. 



429 



hard heart ? Proud ! Of what ? That he is a loath- 
some leper ? a condemned sinner ? an heir of wrath ? 
and a child of the devil ? Proud ! Of what ? Of riches ? 
Some of the vilest on earth are rich. Of beauty? 
Beauty ! " The grave discredits thee. How are thy 
charms expunged ! thy roses faded, and thy lilies soiled ?" 
Proud ! Of what ? Of talents ? " With the talents of 
an angel a man may be a fool." Proud ! Of what ? Of 
splendor and renown ? Behold, the Lord of hosts doth 
take away the mighty man, and the man of war, the 
judge and the prophet, and the prudent and the ancient, 
the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the elo- 
quent orator. Ah ! my brethren ! pride was never made 
for man. The sick chamber may teach him this, and so, 
emphatically, may death and the grave. A sinner proud ! 
One whose soul is a mass of sin, and whose body must 
soon moulder in the tomb ! I repeat it, pride was never 
made for poor sinful man. No ! the dust is his 
place, and the prayer of the publican his appropriate 
prayer : " God be merciful to me a sinner." And now, 
haughty Naaman, let your pride come down. Turn 
your chariot, and go to Jordan. Yield, O yield to the 
terms of the prophet, and let your leprosy pass away ! 
O sinner ! sinner ! be persuaded to fall in with the terms 
of the gospel ! Yield your heart to Christ ; you will 
never repent it 

Did Naaman repent complying with the terms of the 
prophet? No, he rejoiced with exceeding great joy— he 
rejoiced in it to his dying day ! And so will you, and 
not to your dying day only, but to all eternity. I have 



430 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



seen sinners coming to Christ. I have seen them in the 
day of their conversion. O what a biessed moment! 
what a glorious change! The soul has new feelings; 
the heart has new joy ! Everything within is pleasant; 
everything around is lovely. The sun shines more 
brightly, and the birds sing more sweetly. The flowers 
are more beautiful, and even the grass looks more green. 
Yes, it is even so. Sometimes the young convert feels 
as if he had entered into a new world — rejoices with joy 
unspeakable, and full of glory — yea, "has a young heaven 
begun below, and glory in the bud." Tell me not that this 
is fanaticism ! If it be, it is the fanaticism of the pentecostal 
converts, for we are told that "they did eat their meat with 
gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." It is the 
fanaticism of those who were converted in Samaria, for 
we are told that "there was great joy in that city. When 
the Philippian jailor was converted, according to the 
Scriptures he rejoiced in God with all his house. And 
what is said of the church when he was brought under 
the influence of God's converting grace? "He, also, 
went on his way rejoicing." This is no fanaticism. It is 
all perfectly reasonable and natural. Should a poor man 
suddenly become rich, or a sick man all at once find 
himself in strong health — should a person who was sleep- 
ing in a dungeon wake up in a palace, or he who was in 
a wilderness find himself in a garden — how sweet would 
be the surprise ! how delightful the feelings ! Even so it 
is with him who passes from a state of nature to a state 
of grace. 



NAAMAN 



43* 



9* When God revealed his gracious name, 
And changed my mournful state : 
My rapture seemed a pleasing dream, 
The grace appeared so great 1 

Well may there be joy, yea "rapture," in the soul, 
seeing that everything in relation to the sinner has under- 
gone so great and pleasing a change. The bond-slave of 
the devil has become the freetfman of Christ, and the heir 
of glory! O that many hearts may even now yield, and 
and may this be the birth-day of many a precious soul ! 

When Naaman returned to Syria, cleansed of his 
leprosy, no doubt there were rejoicings there! How 
joyfully must his friends have greeted him, now returned 
safe and sound! and O how happy, especially, must have 
been his kindred, the members of his family! Surely the 
voice of joy and gratulation was heard on every hand I 
Surely there must have been a jubilee for many days ! 
And now, should the awakened sinner come to Christ, 
what joy would this inspire in many bosoms! This would 
be an occcasion long to be remembered. Yes, only let 
these anxious souls who are weeping — only let them come 
to Christ, and we shall have a jubilee here too! O how 
that pious father would rejoice in the conversion of his 
son ! How that pious mother, who for years has been 
praying for her daughter — how she would press her to 
her bosom with feelings of new delight that beloved 
daughter, once careless, now a Mary at the feet of her 
Redeemer! How would the pious wife rejoice over the 
conversion of her husband! and the pious husband over 



432 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the conversion of his wife! How brothers and sisters 
would rush into each other's arms, and give glory to God, 
that now, at last, they were going to heaven hand to hand! 
I have beheld such scenes. They bring us near to heaven. 
O for the yielding of hearts ! the breaking down of strong- 
holds! God grant us a pentecostal time, a blessed jubilee 
now, even in this place, and at this time! O Lord, revive 
thy work ! Let the people praise thee, let all this people 
praise thee I Amen, and Amen ! 



SERMON VI. 

THE EXAMPLE OF ELL 

For I have told him, that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity whicli 
he knoweth ; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them 
not.— 1 Samukl iii. 13. 

The case of Eli is melancholy, yet full of instruction ; 
and whilst there is a parent on earth, it will sound an 
alarm, which must and will be heard. Eli was high- 
priest, and was, upon the whole, a good man ; but in one 
thing he was much to be blamed — he neglected parental 
duty — " His sons made themselves vile, and he restrained 
them not." 

Bending now beneath the load of age, this good, but 
too indulgent parent, had retired from the active duties 
of the priesthood. These duties had devolved upon his 
two sons, Hophni and Phinehas ; but, alas! they were 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 



433 



" sons of Belial ;" for, although ministering as priests, in 
the service of the Lord, they were openly immmoral I 
Indeed, so shameful were the immoralities of the young 
men, that " men abhorred the offering of the Lord." Eli, 
it is true, was probably not an eye-witness of his sons' 
immoralities, but he was not ignorant of them ; for we 
are told that he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, 
but he restrained them not. To be sure, he did not pass 
over the matter entirely in silence. No, he reasoned, he 
expostulated, and even reproved them, saying, " Why do 
ye such things ? for I hear of your evil doings, by all 
this people ; nay, my sons, it is no good report that I 
hear of you. You make the Lord's people to transgress. 
If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge 
him ; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat 
for him ?" Thus he reasoned, and expostulated, and 
gently reproved, but restrained them not. This was not 
enough. The sins of the young men were flagrant, and 
called for stronger measures. He ought to have rebuked 
them sharply. He ought to have exerted his authority, 
and put these sons of Belial out of the priesthood. But, 
no ! his too indulgent spirit, his overweening fondness — 
perhaps I should rather say, his criminal weakness — 
caused him to neglect parental duty ; and what was the 
consequence ? Terrible, indeed ! God's righteous anger 
is kindled, and it burns fiercely, against the household 
of this venerable, but unhappy old man. The first 
alarming intimations of divine wrath is made by a pro- 
phet who, divinely commissioned, comes to Shiloh, and 
rings an awful peal in the ears of Eli, predicting heavy 



434 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



judgments just at hand. Shortly after this, the Lord 
appeared to Samuel by night, and said unto him : " Be- 
hold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears 
of every one that heareth it shall tingle! In that day, I 
will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken 
concerning his house. When I begin, I will also make 
an end: for I have told him that I will judge his house 
for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth ; because his 
sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not ; 
therefore have I sworn unto the house of Eli, that the 
iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice 
nor offering foreveV These were not vain words. At 
this time, there was war between the Israelites and the 
Philistines. To animate and encourage the former, the 
ark of God was carried from Shiloh into their camp. 
Hophni and Phinehas, as officiating priests, went along 
with the ark. When the ark was brought into the camp 
of Israel, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that 
the earth rang again ! When the Philistines heard the 
noise of the shout, and understood the occasion thereof, 
they were terrified, and cried out, saying, " God is come 
into the camp ! Woe unto us ! Who shall deliver us 
out of the hands of these mighty gods ? These are the 
gods which smote the Egyptians with all the plagues, in 
the wilderness." Nevertheless, they encouraged each 
other, saying, " Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, 
O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, 
as they have been to you. Quit yourselves like men and 
fight!" 

And now the contending forces rush to battle. The. 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 



435 



clash of arms is heard. The battle rages. The earth is 
red with blood ! Eli, all anxiety, is seated at the gate of 
the city. From an elevated seat he looks towards the 
battlefield, watching, for his heart trembled for the ark 
of God. Suddenly a man of Benjamin is seen coming in 
haste, with his clothes rent, and dust upon his head ! 
What is the matter ? Ah ! he brings evil tiding ! "What 
is there done, my son?" exclaims Eli, all alarm and 
anxiety — " What is there done, my son?" And the 
messenger answered and said, Israel is fled ! There 
has been a great slaughter amongst the people ! Thy 
two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark 
of God is taken !" O the poor old man ! See ! he 
sinks ! he has swooned away ! he has fallen ! "And 
when Eli heard that the ark of God was taken, he fell 
off from his seat, backward, by the side of the gate, and 
his neck brake, and he died, for he was an old man, and 
heavy." Methinks as he heard of the disasters of the 
day, he exclaimed, "God of heaven, this is thy righteous 
judgment! My sons made themselves vile, and I re- 
strained them not, and they are cut off in the midst of 
their sins 1 My sons profaned the ark of God, and, woe 
upon woe! it also is taken!" Ah! my brethren, this is 
more than the poor old man can bear ! He swoons 1 he 
falls backward from his seat upon the ground. His neck 
breaks, and he dies ! The wife of Phinehas, too, not far 
off, hears the dismal tidings. She gives a piercing 
shriek ! Premature pangs come upon her ; she groans 
in anguish ; names her child Ichahod % (which means the 
glory is departed,) and dies! O, day of disaster! O, . 



436 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



scene of no common mourning ! Only see ! on yonder 
field of battle lie two impious sons, weltering in their 
gore ! Near the gate of the city, the old man, prostrate 
upon the ground, dead, and his silvery locks dishonored 
in the dust ! And not far off, a daughter-in-law shrieks 
*and expires! And now, over this scene of disaster and 
war, methinks the voice of an invisible one thrills through 
the air — " For I have told him that I will judge his house 
forever, for the iniquity which he knoweth ; because his 
sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not; 
therefore have I sworn to the house of Eli, that the 
iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice 
nor offering for ever !" 

There are parents in this assembly ; it may be in many 
respects good parents, but perhaps some of them are 
Elis — good parents, but they neglect parental duty. O, 
what a serious matter this is ! It is, alas ! too common, 
and who can tell the evils flowing from it, even from 
generation to generation ! If there be any present who 
are walking in the footsteps of the too indulgent and 
unhappy Eli, I would desire, at this time, to address them 
with much plainness, and yet with great kindness and 
respect, remembering that I am also a parent, and per- 
haps need rebuke and counsel as well as they. I could 
wish myself better qualified to speak upon the subject 
than I am ; yet it may not be amiss for me here simply 
to say, that however deficient I myself may have been in 
the matter of parental duty, yet I would say, to the praise 
of God's grace, that I have the prospect of meeting my 
whole family unbroken in heaven ; and every child, save 
one, was hopefully converted in the morning of life. 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 



437 



Our text is rarely taken, Too seldom is the subject 
of parental duty, or family government, presented from 
the sacred desk ; and this, perhaps, is one reason, that 
teachers of common schools, and officers in seminaries 
of learning of a higher character, so frequently have 
occasion to complain of *' bad boys," and boys that are 
rude, and difficult to be controlled. I know that often- 
times there is a fault in the nursery, and that some 
mothers are not happy in the management of their chil- 
dren * permitting their children to rule them, when they 
should rule their children. Perhaps the mother is defi- 
cient in the matter of sound judgment; or may not be 
uniform^ or perhaps she cannot control herself, and 
therefore cannot control those committed to her charge. 
But there are cases of this kind : — 'the mother does every- 
thing which a wise and prudent mother ought to do, in 
the training of her children ; but her boys are getting 
rather beyond her control, she needs help from the other 
parent, and this help is not afforded. Fathers ! listen t I 
have heard many complaints of this kind. O, ye who 
are emphatically heads of your families' — -kings in your 
own household — -remember! very much depends upon 
you. Some fathers are disposed to excuse themselves. 
Their business, they think, is " to make money," and 
provide for their families, and, as Shunamite father, when 
he was with his reapers in the field, and his little boy 
came to him sick and cried, My head! only replied, 
Carry him to his mother—for he was too busy to attend 
to such matters— even so, at the present day, too many 
fathers neglect their children, turning them over to the 



438 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



care of the mother. Thus did not Abraham, for, what 
said the Almighty concerning him ? "I know him, that 
he will command his children, and his household alter 
him, and they shall, keep the way of the Lord," The 
general subject of family government is, however, not at 
this time to be presented. There is, now, only one 
branch of parental duty to which I would particularly 
call your attention, and that is, the duty of restraining 
children from the indulgence of things which are vicious 
and vile. 

I. Parents should restrain their children from indulging 
in evil passions. Certain strong feelings of the soul may 
be highly useful. If, in their exercise, they are confined 
to proper limits, they give promptness and energy to the 
character; but they must be properly controlled. They 
are like fire, "good servants, but bad masters," and re- 
quire early attention, and all proper restraints. If ne- 
glected by the parent, they are apt to grow with the 
growth and strengthen with the strength of the child ; 
and too frequently, they are permitted to get the mastery, 
even in early life. How often have I seen petted and 
spoiled children raging with angry passions, and even 
treating with indignity those who gave them birth. If 
ever parental authority should be exercised, if ever the 
rod of correction should be used, this is the time ; foi 
the indulgence of violent passions has proved the ruin 
of many. O how many hands have been stained with 
blood 1 and how many families have been clothed in 
mourning ! and how many poor souls have been sent 
unprepared to their last account, by the indulgence of evil 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 439 

passions, which ought to have been controlled, but were 
not, in the nursery ! 

I saw a boy once, not twelve years of age, in a prison, 
who, in a fit of passion, had murdered one of his com- 
panions ! And I saw another, not ten years old, who, in 
a paroxysm of rage, had hung himself! Moreover, I 
can mention an incident that occurred some years ago, 
which strongly illustrates the evil of not controlling chil- 
dren in early life. 

An elder of my church, (a most lovely and venerable 
man, but an Eli, if there ever was one in modern times,) 
had a son who, when about twenty years of age, being 
angry with his father one evening, seized his venerable 
parent by the hair of his head, and endeavored to throw 
him out of the window of a two-story house. And now, 
mark ! what did this young man the next morning, when 
the violence of his passions had subsided ? Did he fall 
upon his kness and beg his father's forgiveness ? No ! 
he added insult to injury. When his father reminded 
him of his outrageous conduct, he replied, " Sir, it is your 
own fault ! you ought to have restrained me when I was 
a child." 

Parents ! think upon these things, and when you see 
your children excited, calm them. When you see their 
passions kindling, hold them in check. Do not even 
suffer them, when excited, to speak loudly, for it is com- 
mon for persons to become more excited by hearing their 
own voice ; as a lion is said to lash himself into a fury 
by the rapid movement of his own tail. And above all, 
beware how, by precept or example, you teach your 



440 



REVIVAL SERMONS* 



children lessons of revenge. I have known a mother to 
strike a chair, against which her child had fallen and 
hurt itself ; and who, affecting passion, said, " Naughty 
thing ! Strike it, my dear I Mother will not let it hurt 
her darling !" And there are fathers who will not only 
suffer themselves to be thrown into a passion in the 
presence of their children, but will, positively, teach them 
with violence to resent all injuries. " My son," said a 
certain parent, " you are going to school ; if a boy strikes 
you, and you do not return the blow, I will correct 
you." How much better would be this counsel and this 
language : " My son, you are going to school. Be 
respectful and kind to all your playmates, and they will 
be respectful and kind to you ; for the Bible says, 'With 
what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you 
again.' " Parents would do well to require their children 
to commit to memory this passage of Scripture : " He 
that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and 
he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city;" 
and nothing better than frequently to repeat, in their 
hearing, what is said of the blessed Saviour : " When he 
was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he 
threatened not." And also, that even when upon the 
cross, he prayed for his murderers, saying, "Father, for- 
give them for they know not what they do." But, 
parents, if after all good counsel, and this enforced by a 
good example, you find your children will indulge in 
vindictive and angry passions, you know your duty — 
restrain them ! But, 

II. Parents should restrain their children from uttering 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 



441 



falsehood, or, in plainer language, from telling lies. No 
vice is more sinful or degrading ; none marks a more 
depraved heart than this. And yet, some children seem 
to be strangely addicted to it, even in early childhood. 
Indeed, the Bible says, "The wicked are estranged from 
the womb ; they go astray as soon as they are born, 
speaking lies." Vile and abominable as this vice is, 
there are some parents who do not frown upon it as they 
should. Nay, some even encourage it! not intentionally, 
it may be, and yet they do encourage it, and that in 
several ways. Permit me to mention a few. The child 
has told a story, a downright falsehood, and the parent 
smiles. And why? There was something amusing in 
it, or something smart ; and the parent is evidently more 
pleased with the wit than displeased with the sin. This 
is not all. The story is told to the next person who 
steps in, and he must needs smile, and say something 
complimentary of the " little rogue," as he is playfully 
termed, or not please the doating parent. Another case : 
To induce the child to take some nauseous medicine, the 
parent tells the child it is sugar; the child takes the 
dose, and finds that a fraud was practised. Again: To 
induce the child to remain quietly at home, when the 
parents go to town, a promise is made that such a thing 
will be done, or such a present made ; and the promise is 
broken. Take another case: A certain neighbor is pres- 
ent, and the parents profess wonderful friendship, are 
marvellously cordial; but as soon as he has retired, and 
the door is closed, they turn him into ridicule, or speak 
of him with great contempt ; and this in the presence of 



442 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the child. Take another example: The child, through 
heedlessness, breaks a plate, and the parent, happening 
to be in a bad humor, slaps the child. The next day the 
child is detected in telling a downright lie, and the parent 
is contented with giving the child a gentle rebuke. What 
impression does this make? Why, certainly this: It is 
more sinful to break a plate than to tell a lie! Some- 
times, also, parents, for the sake of amusement, or to 
excite wonder, will most grossly discolor narratives, and 
exaggerate matters of fact; and will, perhaps, even give 
fiction for truth. Ah! little do such parents think what 
evil they are doing to their offspring! Little do they 
think how they are sowing and watering the seeds of 
sin ! how they are nourishing a germ which has within it 
prison and death! Parents should teach their children 
how odious and sinful all lying is; how offensive to God, 
and how certainly it will bring ruin upon the soul. It 
would be well to remind children frequently of what the 
Bible says: "The mouth of him that speaketh lies shall 
be stopped ;" and again: "All liars shall have their part 
in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." 
" Mr. Baker," said a little boy to me in a certain place, 
"I can't tell a lie." I had just been addressing children 
and among other things, I had mentioned that a good 
little boy was a father's jewel, and a bad little boy was a 
father's plague. On coming out, I laid my hand upon 
the head of a sprightly, rosy-cheeked boy of five years 
of age, and said, "My little friend, are you your father's 
jewel?" " Mr. Baker," said he, "I can't tell a lie. I am 
my father's jewel." His father was a worthy elder of the 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 



443 



church, and had, no doubt, taught him the exceeding 
sinfulness of lying, and that truth, like the name of the 
ever blessed God, is most sacred, and must in no form 
or fashion be trifled with. Parents, attend to this matter! 
If your children are acquiring the habit of lying, re- 
member, they are making themselves vile. Forget not 
your responsibility — restrain them ! 

III. Parents should restrain their children from profane 
swearing. There is something, however, so unnatural, 
and impious, and daring, in this vice, that children are 
not so apt to fall into it, as into some others; and yet 
there are boys, and even little boys, whose mouths are 
full of cursing and bitterness ! Young and tender as 
they are, their unhallowed lips blaspheme their Maker, 
and pour out curses on all around. I have heard little 
children swearing in the streets; and I once knew a boy, 
not four years of age, who would swear most profanely, 
and curse his mother! His grandfather had taught him 
to do it — all in sport, it is true, but no less sinful on that 
account. And, sad to tell, that same little boy was laid 
in his grave only a few months after! And not long 
since, riding in the stage with a very profane young man, 
"Sir," said he to me, "my father used to tell me to curse 
the horses when they would not do as I wished them." 
That any bearing the sacred name of parents should, by 
precept, teach their offspring the language of profaneness, 
is almost incredible; and yet such there are. Surely, 
parents of this kind are monsters in human shape, and 
must be considered as standing forth, fair candidates for 
companionship with those foul spirits in the world of 



444 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



woe, who blaspheme the God of heaven, because of 
their pains, and repent not. We do hope that the num- 
ber of this frightful stamp of character is small; but we 
fear that there are, alas ! too many, who, if they do not 
teach profaneness by precept, do it by practice, and this 
is nearly the same; for what is example, but a living or 
illustrated precept? O, venerated father! If you must 
swear, be entreated, don't do it in the presence of your 
dear little boy! He thinks that you are the best man 
upon the face of the earth; he thinks that whatever you 
do must be right. And shall his very respect for you be 
the occasion of his ruin? If you are about uttering an 
oath, if your boy be present, for the sake of that dear 
boy, if for no other reason, let that oath die unuttered 
upon your tongue. But there are some parents who will 
not teach their children to swear, either by precept or 
example, and who would by no means tolerate their 
swearing in their presence, who, nevertheless, care very 
little what language their children use when not in their 
presence, and who, even if told that their children are 
profane, take no notice of the matter. Such parents are 
not innocent. They stand guilty before God. Eli was, 
probably, not an eye-witness of his sons' immoralities; 
but he was not ignorant of them; for, as we are informed, 
"he was told of all that his sons did, but he restrained 
them not;" and hence the curse came. And as we have 
seen, most terrible was the curse. Let all parents take 
warning ! 

Profane swearing is, I am sorry to say it, a vice but 
too common in our land, and in our day. Go into any 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 445 

tavern or hotel ; travel in any stage, steamboat, or rail- 
road-car, and if you do not hear the language of profane- 
ness, you are more favored than I have been. It is 
common, I believe, everywhere. In the city, in the 
country; on the land, and on the wave. And what is 
surprising, it is not confined to the lowest orders ofj 
society, but it is common even amongst those who are 
esteemed respectable and genteel. And what is still 
more remarkable, even persons of literary taste are some- 
times found profane. They will use phrases which have 
no beauty, and which no grammarian on earth can parse; 
and these abominable phrases they will repeat more than 
one hundred times in a day ! If this be not the bubbling 
up of sheer depravity, what is it ? And, strange to say, 
some persons who hold to the doctrine of universal salva- 
tion, nevertheless, will say, over and over again, that they 
will be damned, and will even swear to it ! This sin, my 
brethren, of profane swearing, I consider peculiarly impi- 
ous and daring ; for it is so expressly forbidden ; and, of 
all others, it has the least excuse, for it has no reward — 
no temptation. Does it add to a man's wealth ? It does 
not. Does it make him more happy ? It does not. 
Does it make him more influential or beloved? It does 
not. Does it, in any manner, raise him in the estimation 
of others ? It does not, In the view of the wisest and 
the best, it lowers him ; it makes him vile ; for it is well 
known that the most unprincipled and abandoned, the 
vilest of the vile, are usually the most profane. Who 
ever heard of a pirate that did not swear ? of a liar that 
did not swear ? of a gambler that did not swear ? Now, 



446 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



if the most wicked and most vile are, of all others, the 
most profane, certainly, just so far as a man resembles 
them, he makes himself vile. Parents, remember this! 
Can you be indifferent to a matter of this kind ? Relig- 
ion apart, if you have a regard for your own standing, or 
the respectability of your children, do not lose sight of 
this matter. If your children are becoming profane, they 
are becoming wicked and vile. Ah me ! when a child 
swears, methinks all heaven grieves ! God Almighty 
frowns ! guardian angels blush ! and the Recording Spirit 
sighs as he writes it down in the records of eternity ! What, 
then, must parents do in such a case ? Do you ask ? 
The case is clear: let them assert their authority; let 
them restrain those committed to their charge. 

IV. Parents should, moreover, restrain their children 
from keeping bad company. The Bible says, and says 
correctly, "Evil communications corrupt good manners:" 
and a certain old writer makes this remark, quaint, but 
true : " They who go much into bad company, are like 
those who go much into the sun — they soon get tanned." 
Firm indeed must be that heart which can withstand con- 
tinual temptations ; and strong those principles which can 
resist perpetual assaults — "attrition wears the solid rock." 
Even men, ripe in age and experience, have been ser- 
iously injured by too intimately associating with improper 
characters ; and what then can be expected from an inex- 
perienced youth, or a tender child? Solomon knew well 
the danger of such associations, and therefore said, * My 
son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not: walk not 
thou in the way with them ; refrain thy feet from their 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 



447 



path." That is, have nothing to do with them. It is 
better for a son or daughter to have no companions at all, 
than those who are vile and corrupting. Many an inter- 
esting young man, who once bid fair to be a comfort to 
his parents, and a useful and ornamental member of so- 
ciety, has been ruined by vile associates, and bad compan- 
ions. Am I wrong ? Perhaps some, even now present, are 
ready to say, " Sir, I had well nigh been ruined in this 
way. My feet were almost gone ; my steps had well nigh 
slipped ! O, if it had not been for that sudden death, or 
that alarming providence, or that soce affliction, or that 
pious letter, or that awakening sermon, or that faithful 
friend, I would have been ruined by my evil associates ! 
Blessed be God, who has not given over my sonl as a 
prey to destruction ! My soul is delivered as a bird out 
of the snare ,oi the fowler; the snare is broken, and I am 
escaped !" Parents, think well upon this subject ! Guard 
the morals of your children ; select their companions ; see 
to it, that these companions be the gentle and the good, 
and not the vicious and the vile. If they prefer the latter 
talk kindly to them, reason the matter well ; but. if they 
persist, remember the case of Eli, and restrain them. 

V. Parents should restrain their children from the sin of 
Sabbath-breaking. The fourth commandment, which 
says, V Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," is one 
of the most important in the whole decalogue; and I 
fully accord with the sentiment expressed in these words, 
'•• No Sabbath, no religion." The Sabbath, like the rite 
of marriage, was an institution of paradise. And most 
truly am our Saviour say, 44 The Sabbath was made for 



448 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



man" — designed to be a blessing to the human race — a 
benefit to man's physical and moral nature, as well as a 
blessing to him in a spiritual point of view. Relax the 
obligations of the Sabbath, and you open the floodgates 
of vice ; abolish the Sabbath, and you ruin the world ! 
See France, when the Sabbath was abolished ! — then 
began " the reign of terror." Sir Matthew Hale states, 
that nearly all of those upon whom he was called to pass 
sentence of death, confessed that their course of depravity 
and crime commenced in breaking the holy Sabbath ! 
and of twelve hundred and thirty-two convicts in the 
State prison of New York, it seems, that only twenty-six 
had been taught to reverence that sacred day! These 
things speak volumes. Parents ! teach your children, 
both by precept and example, to remember the Sabbath 
day to keep it holy. Permit them not to wander about, 
as little Arabs, on that holy day; permit them not to 
engage in their usual sports and pastimes ; send them to 
the Sabbath-school ; place in their hands interesting 
books suited to the day ; teach them their catechisms ; 
tell them " Bible stories ;" talk to them about Joseph, 
about Samuel, about Daniel, and the three children ; talk 
to them about the blessed Saviour, and the martyrs ; 
about heaven, and certain good children who have gone 
to that happy world ; furnish yourself with matter ; lay 
yourself out to give Sabbath day instruction ; let every- 
thing be pleasant and inviting ; let the Lord's day, so to 
speak, be wreathed with flowers ; let it be made to your 
children a delight, the " sweetest of all the seven." If, 
however, your children are disposed to wander about on 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 



449 



the Sabbath, and get into improper company, and engage 
in improper sports, remember the case of Abraham, who 
maintained his authority, and the case of Eli, who did not; 
remember the blessing which came upon the one, and 
the curse which came upon the other, and neglect not 
parental duty ! 

I might also say something on the subject of frequent- 
ing taverns, using ardent spirits, attending horse-races, 
and theatres, and dancing parties; and also about novel- 
reading, and many other things, but the time would fail. 
Permit me to say, that parents should, as far as possible, 
restrain their children from everything calculated to have 
a corrupting or evil influence upon them, in any way; for, 
is not the parent the Heaven-appointed guardian of the 
child ? and if the parent does not watch over the child, 
who will ? But this suggests the propriety of adding a 
few remarks, by way of stirring up parents to a more 
faithful and diligent discharge of the important duties 
which devolve upon them. 

I. Parents, remember, your children are jewels — liv- 
ing jewels ! They bear the stamp of immortality. They 
will outlive the splendors of the sun, and all the stars 
which decorate the broad arch of heaven ! They must 
live forever ; and that either in happiness or in misery — 
either as angels of light, or spirits damned ! and to you, 
more than to any other persons in the world, is com- 
mitted the power and the duty of forming the character 
of the child. And hence to the parent it is said, " Train 
up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old 
he will not depart from it." You are the pilot that must 



450 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



direct the course; you are the guide that must mark out 
the right path. Early impressions, we all know, are the 
most enduring ; and, in the providence of God, it is so 
arranged, that whether you desire it or not, the earliest 
impressions are received from you. O the immense re- 
sponsibility of the parent! It is enough to make the 
best man tremble ! — at any rate it is enough to drive 
every parent to the throne of the heavenly grace, to seek 
wisdom there. And O how unhappy, how pitiable is the 
case of those children whose parents, so far from restrain- 
ing them from wicked ways, do not restrain themselves ! 
It is the duty of all parents to " lure to brighter worlds, 
and lead the way." But when the influence of the parent 
is the reverse of this, surely it is enough to make angels 
weep. Many children who were blessed with good and 
pious parents, will, we verily believe, rise up and call their 
parents blessed, in the resurrection morn. O ye parents, 
who neglect parental duty, what will your children say 
of you in the great judgment-day? But this leads to 
another remark. 

2. Parents! are you aware of your responsibility? 
Have you ever seriously thought how much depends 
upon you ? Have you discharged your duty to your 
children? Have you done your best to form their man- 
ners, and to give their characters a noble and heavenly 
stamp? Have you done what you could to make them 
virtuous in life, happy in death, and happy forever ? If 
your son is profligate, have you nothing to reproach 
yourself with ? Suppose you were now upon a dying 
bed, would you have the consolation of believing that you 



THE EXAMPLE OF ELI. 



451 



had done everything you could do to promote the best 
interests of your children for time and for eternity ? Eli's 
sons were cut down in the midst of their sins; and you 
know how melancholy was his own end. Should your 
children, or any one of them, be taken away unprepared, 
would there be no remorse waked up in your bosom? 
Are you quite sure that there would be no occasion for 
anything like self-reproach ? In a meeting for serious 
inquirers, held in a certain place, there was one under 
most pungent conviction. He was overwhelmed ; he was 
almost convulsed with agony ! He was a father, who had 
just come from the grave of his son, a young man, who 
had died, it seems, without hope. The unhappy old man 
then remembered his fault, his dreadful guilt, in neglect- 
ing parental duty. He had neither by precept nor exam- 
ple been a blessing to his son — and now that son was 
gone forever ! O ye parents, who have not been faithful 
to your trust, could you have seen this unhappy father 
weeping bitterly over his neglect of parental duty, me- 
thinks it would have had the power of a thousand argu- 
ments to rouse you to the importance of attending, with 
all diligence and fidelity, to those immortal ones whom 
Heaven has committed to your charge ! 

3. One remark more, and I have done. Parents, your 
own happinsss is concerned in this matter! A wise 
son," says Solomon, " maketh a glad father ; but a foolish 
son is the heaviness of his mother." It is a remarkable 
fact, that children who are properly controlled in early 
life, retain a respect and affection for their parents as long 
as they live ; but those who have been foolishly indulged 



452 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

and permitted in everything to have their own way ; 
those, in other words, whose training has been neglected, 
and who have not in early life been brought under proper 
control ; those I have noticed, are wont to be very defi- 
cient both in respect and affection. I have seen cases of 
this kind, so marked, that it seemed as if the judgments 
of heaven had commenced falling upon unfaithful parents 
even in this life ; and the words of our text seemed to 
tingle upon the ear : " I have told him that I will judge 
his house forever, for the iniquity which he knoweth, be- 
cause his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained 
them not." Parents, do your duty in the fear of God, 
and your children will be a comfort to you. O how 
happy the parent whose children turn out well ! The 
mother's heart thrills with joy whilst, like the mother of 
the Gracchii, she pronounces them her jewels; and the 
fond father, too, with a glad heart, delights to call them 
his, whilst he realizes the blessedness of that man, whose 
" wife is as a fruitful vine by the side of his house, and 
his children like olive plants round about his table." God 
bless every parent here ! and may none have the weak- 
ness, nor share the sorrows of the unhappy Eli I 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



453 



SERMON VI. 

PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 

But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in him- 
telf alone, and not in another.— Galatians. vi. 4. 

In these words we have an important precept, enforced 
by a very powerful consideration. The precept is ex- 
pressed in these words : " Let every man prove his own 
work." By a man's own work, we are to understand, 
not merely his actions, and general conduct, but his 
thoughts, his motives, his sentiments, and everything, 
indeed, which has an influence on the forming of his 
moral and religious character. These things he is to 
prove : that is, to test ; to see if they are of the right 
stamp ; to see if they will answer in a dying hour ; to see 
if they will stand the scrutiny of the last great day. 

At first view, we see that the precept is an important 
one. But this is not enough. It is exceedingly impor- 
tant. To prove this, permit me to remark — First : Self- 
deception is very common, and this arises from several 
sources. In the first place, the springs of action lie very 
deep. A man may suppose himself influenced by one 
set of motives, when, really, he is influenced by another 
set of m otives altogether ! This rich man, for example 
gives himself great credit for his numerous and splendid 
charities. He really thinks they flow from motives of 
pure benevolence, when, perchance, if traced to their 
source, it will be found that these acts of charity originate 



454 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

in secret vanity, or love of human applause. See that 
youthful soldier! At the call of his country, he buckles 
on his armor, faces the wintry blast, and rushes through 
clouds of dust, and seas of blood ! He firmly believes 
that he is a patriot, when, really true patriotism, it may 
be, has very little to do in this matter. Ambition is the 
ruling passion in his bosom ! He pants for distinction ! 
He longs to twine the laurels of fame around his brow! 
" Come and see my zeal for the Lord of Hosts," said 
Jehu, when he was cutting down the enemies of the Lord. 
What made him so zealous on this occasion ? It so hap- 
pened, that in cutting down the enemies of the Lord, he 
was establishing his own dynasty ! Ah ! my brethren, 
the heart is deceitful above all things ; and the springs of 
action lie very deep. This is one great source of self- 
deception. Another is this — the power of self-love. 
Charity, or love, the Scriptures tell us, covereth a multi- 
tude of sins : that is, hides them from the view. See that 
over-fond and doting mother! — (Mistake me not — if there 
is a class of persons upon earth for whom I have a pecul- 
iarly profound respect, it is for mothers; and I can with 
all my heart say, Heaven bless mothers, all the world 
over ! but I have reference now to a certain description 
of mothers, concerning whom it may be said, alas ! that 
there are such !) — See that doting mother, I say — she has 
one only child — one darling boy. She thinks he is the 
perfection of all excellence — the best child in all the land 
— and she is telling its smart sayings, and speaking its 
praises to every neighbor that steps in. She thinks, she 
really believes, this child to be the best in all the land. 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



455 



Everybody else sees plainly that it is a spoiled piece ! — ■ 
Why? It will disobey its mother; it is peevish, and fret- 
ful ; is rude even in the presence of company. It is pos- 
itively a bad child ; and yet the mother thinks it is won- 
derfully smart and good — none like it in all the town ! 
How are we to account for this ? Charity covers a mul- 
titude of sins. The mother's overweening fondness for 
her child hides from her view all its faults, and therefore 
she comes to a wrong conclusion concerning the true 
character of that child. Just so in the case before us. 
Loving ourselves, as we are too apt to do, with an inor- 
dinate love, we are wont to look more frequently upon 
the bright, than the dark side of our character. This 
being the case, what are we to expect, but that we shall 
think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think! 
The power of self-love ! Yes, this has deceived many. 

There are other sources of self-deception ; but I proceed 
to make a second remark, which is this : — Self-deception 
is very dangerous. It serves to keep a person quiet, 
when, if he were only aware of his true character and con- 
dition, he would be in a state of great alarm and anxiety. 
If I have taken up the idea that I am no sinner, what 
motive have I to repent? If I have come to the conclu- 
sion that I am on the safe side, why should I desire to 
change sides ? If I lay my soul to the flattering unction 
that I have a very good heart, why should I pray that 
God would give me a new heart? Thus, we see the evil 
and danger of self-deception ; keeping us quiet at the 
very moment when, perhaps, we have reason to cry out, 
with the Philippian jailor, " O sirs ! what must I do to be 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



saved ?" But this is not all. Self-deception leads to the 
ruin of many. What says the Saviour ? — Many shall 
come unto me in that day, and say, Lord ! Lord ! and I 
will profess unto them — Depart ! I never knew you ! 
Who are these ? Miserable self-deceivers, who, neg- 
lecting to prove their own work, knew nothing of 
their true condition until the light of eternity broke the 
power of all delusion ! O, how awful, for a person to go 
down to the grave with " a lie in his right hand !" and 
what time he smiles of angels, and the plaudits of the 
blessed Redeemer, to hear the thunders of wrath, and the 
waitings of the lost! And yet we have too much reason 
to fear that this will be the case with many. I think I 
can mention the case of one, at least, who evidently left 
the world under the power of self-deception — Jean Jac- 
ques Rousseau. When near his end, he had no anxiety 
in relation to his future state, but turning to one, (I think 
not his wife,) remarked : " My dear, how happy for one 
to die who has nothing to reproach himself with ! I will 
go to the bar, and say, ' Great God, here is Jean Jacques 
Rousseau! and a better man never lived!'" — Now, did 
not this very man write two octavo volumes, (his own 
life,) in which he confesses he did many things most 
shameful, and which I would not mention, lest the very 
mention thereof should crimson the cheek of modesty ? 
Yet, forgetting all these things, he bases all his hopes of 
heaven upon the purity of his moral character ! Most 
assuredly he was a miserable self-deceiver! He had not 
proved his own work, and, so far as we can see, it proved 
the ruin of his soul. But I can mention another case, 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 457 

more startling still. I know a female who died shouting; 
and yet there was awful reason to fear that she never 
entered the heavenly world. I will state the case, and 
you can form your own conclusion. She had neglected 
the care of her soul, it seems, all her life long ; when near 
her end, mark! without any conviction of sin, (so far as I 
could perceive) or need of a Saviour, she got her imagin- 
ation wrought upon about " the golden streets of the new 
Jerusalem ; and whilst this briliant image was before her 
mind she was thrown into a rapture, and left the world in 
what was called great triumph. Surely this must have 
been a case ot self-deception; for how can a person be a 
penitent without having some conviction of sin ? or how 
can a person embrace a Saviour without feeling any need 
of him ? Ah! surely, it was Apollyon, coming up out 
of the smoke of Tophet, and saying, Peace ! peace ! when 
there is no peace. Hush ! hush ! when death and 
destruction are at the door ! " No marvel," says Peter, 
"for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." 
O, how important, when such mighty interests are at 
stake, to dig deep, and lay a good foundation ! In other 
words, how important, how exceedingly important it is 
for every man to prove his own work ! 

There is no such thing as rectifying mistakes in 
eternity. When death's leaden sceptre is laid upon the 
cold bosom, the decree of an immutable God rolls over 
the shrouded form — " He that is filthy, let him be filthy 
still ! and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still !" 
In view of these things I now ask, is not the precept in 
our text one of exceeding great importance? If I mis* 



458 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



take not, the best in this assembly are ready promptly to 
exclaim, " It is ! it is !" — for I have noticed that those 
whose piety is the least questionable, are the very ones who 
are most disposed to exercise a godly jealousy over their 
own hearts; knowing that, of a truth, the human heart 
by nature " is deceitful above all things, and desperately 
wicked/' But, deceitful as the heart of man unquestion- 
ably is, there is nevertheless, such a thing as knowing 
our true state and condition. Yes, there is such a thing 
as being able to say with the man of Uz, " I know that 
my Redeemer liveth" — and with the apostle Paul, " We 
know, that if the earthly house of this our tabernacle 
were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Cer- 
tainly, every man may prove his own work — may test 
his own character, or we should not find recorded the 
precept in our text. Aye, and I will go further, and say, 
if we are truly converted, we must have spiritual evidence 
of it, and that too — mark ! whether we have lights or 
shadows — joy or sorrow ! Do you doubt this ? See that 
dear little girl ! she loves her mother ; she follows her 
mother, as if she were her shadow. She cannot be happy 
when her mother is gone. See her now, almost dancing- 
for joy, whilst standing near her mother's lap. How her 
eyes sparkle ! Her face is dressed in smiles ! " What 
makes you so happy, little child ?" " O," says she, 
"Mother loves me; she talks so good to me!" — You 
don't question her love for her mother. Change the case: 
That little daughter has done something to displease its 
mother. Its mother is displeased, and looks sad. " Ma, 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



459 



what is the matter ?" says the child. " Why, my daugh- 
ter," replies the mother, " you have been a naughty child, 
and your mother can't love you until you are sorry for 
what you have done." See the little creature ! she bursts 
into a flood of tears, and rushing into another room, she 
cries, fit to break her little heart ! Some one comes by 
and says, " Are you sick ?" She is not disposed to talk. 
Another asks, " What is the matter, my little dear ? 
What makes you cry so ?" "O !" exclaims she, " Moth- 
er don't love me ! Mother don't love me !" — Now, I ask, 
does not this child give as convincing proof of real affec- 
tion for her mother, as when she was dancing around her 
mother's lap, because her mother was smiling upon her ? 
As this child, then, has a way of making known her affec- 
tion for her mother, whether her mother smile or frown, 
even so, has piety a way of making itself known, whether 
there be lights or shadows, joy or sorrow. Take the 
case of Job, for example. On one occasion the candle of 
the Lord shines upon him, and in the joy and exultation 
of his soul he exclaims, "I know that my Redeemer 
liveth !" At another time he is under a cloud; and what 
is his language now ? " O, that I knew where I might 
find him ! — Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 
Is not his piety just as evident in the latter as in the 
former case ? 

Take another example : — The Psalmist, in a moment 
when everything is bright and clear, uses this language 
of confidence and triumph: "Thou shalt guide me with 
thy counsels, and afterwards receive me to glory." You 
have no doubt of his piety now. But a cloud has passed 



460 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



over the Psalmist; he is in great darkness; mark his 
language now! "Will the Lord cast off forever? will 
he be favorable nb more? Why art tho.u cast down, O 
my soul? and why are thou disquieted within me? 
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him." Surely noth- 
ing can be more evidential of true piety than this. These 
things being so, I take this position, that if a person is 
truly converted, truly a child of God, he must and will 
have scriptural evidence of it, whether he have lights or 
shadows, whether he have joy or sorrow. Hence, the 
precept in our text is applicable to all, and in all circum- 
stances : " Let every man prove his own work." And 
now, my brethren, if you wish to deal faithfully with 
your own souls; if you desire to know your true charac- 
ter and condition; in other words, if you wish to make 
sure work for eternity, there are three things which you 
must do: You must consider, you must examine, and you 
must compare. 

I. You must consider. — "Thus saith the Lord of 
Hosts, consider your ways." There are many persons 
who do not, will not spend one single thought upon the 
subject of their soul's salvation! They can think about 
their riches, their honors, their pleasures; they can think 
- about this and that scheme of gain and aggrandizement; 
indeed, they can think about anything and everything, 
except that which should engage their earliest and most 
serious attention — the salvation of their undying souls! 
Such persons may be said to live a dreaming life! and no 
wonder if such palm a fatal deception upon themselves, 
and go down to the grave with a "lie in their right hmid," 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK, 



461 



My brethren, your must think about your spiritual 
state; you must frequently ask, what are your hopes for 
eternity? This is necessary to rouse the soul to life and 
activity, It is requisite as a preparation for something 
more, I hold, that the mind, to be excited, must have 
the exciting object before it How can beauty charm, if 
it be not looked upon ? How can music please, if it be 
not attended to? How can there be the feeling of an 
object, when there is no contact? Ordinarily, the mind 
operates through its appropriate organ* If it wants to 
see, it directs the eye ; if it wants to hear, it turns the ear; 
if it wants to feel, it extends the hand, Even so, the 
understanding is the eye of the mind; and, in order that 
the mind may be duly roused, the exciting object should 
be brought before the understanding, the eye of the mind, 
and then there is a setting in motion the will, the affec- 
tions, and all the powers of the soul Do I deny the 
doctrine of Divine influences ? God forbid ! It forms an 
essential part of the "faith once delivered to the saints;" 
but the Spirit operates in accordance with the moral and 
physical nature of man. How was the Psalmist convert- 
ed ? By the Spirit of God, unquestionably. But the 
manner, the mode, the way and means? By serious 
thought. Hear what he says— "I thought upon my 
ways, and turned my feet to thy testimonies." He was 
once an impenitent sinner, careless and secure in his sins. 
He was going to an eternal world under the power of an 
awful deception. But his character is changed. Mark 
the process ! — " I thought upon my ways." He first 
began to inquire whether he was living as he ought to 



462 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



live ; whether he was walking in the right path — the path 
to heaven. Under the operation of serious thought, he 
was led to see that all was not right ; that he was in a 
dangerous way ; that he was not going to heaven, but to 
hell! What was the consequence ? There was an end 
to his carnal security. Anxiety was waked up in his 
bosom and a determinstion to act : " I turned my feet to 
thy testimonies." Aye, and there was promptness of 
action : " I made haste to keep thy commandments." 
Peter denied his Master, and for a season was quiet, and 
without any self-reproach. But we are told that " when 
he thought thereon, he wept." When Hazael came to 
the prophet, the man of God, it is said, fixed his eyes 
upon him, until he (the man of God) wept. The future 
crimes of Hazael were brought before the prophetic eye 
of the prophet, and his very soul was moved within him. 
The man of God could not restrain his tears — he wept. 
In the first chapter of Isaiah, God brings this charge 
against the children of Israel — "I have nourished and 
brought up children, and they have rebelled against me : 
— The ox knoweth its owner, and the ass his master's 
crib, but Israed doth not know." And why ? The an- 
swer is given — " My people doth not consider" Thus it 
appears that there is much power in serious thought. If, 
then, a man would thoroughly prove his own work, he 
must, as a preliminary step, consider his ways — his moral 
conduct, his present state, his future prospects. He must 
seriously consider whither he is going, and whether the 
way in which he is now going will land him in happiness, 
or in misery ; in heaven or in hell. But y 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



463 



2. You must examine.— Serious consideration is not 
enough. There must, also be a close and prayerful ex- 
amination. If a merchant wishes to know precisely how 
he stands, he must not only think about his affairs, but 
he must also enter upon the work of careful examination. 
He must turn over the leaves of his day-book and ledger; 
he must look into his strong box and drawer; he must 
find out what he owes to others and what others owe to him. 
Then, and not until then, can he know precisely how his 
business and pecuniary matters stand. Just so in relation to 
the case in hand. If a man desires to know his true state 
and condition, he must go beyond the matter of serious 
thought. He must enter, in good earnest, upon the work 
of self-examination. In the light of divine truth, he must 
examine, not merely his outward conduct and actions, 
but also the state of his heart and affections. He must 
examine his thoughts ; for as a man thinketh in his heart, 
so is he. He must examine his motives and his senti- 
ments, and, in short, everything which exerts an influence 
in the formation of his moral and religious character. 
With regard to a man's motive — this is an important mat- 
ter; for oftentimes the motive stamps the character of the 
action. Should a person do you a kindness, you would 
be thankful ; but suppose it should be ascertained that in 
doing you this kindness, he never intended it, but, con- 
trary wise, intended to do you a serious and lasting injury; 
when aware of his motive, there will be, if I mistake not 
a very great abatement in your sense of obligation to him. 
Now, if motive is something with man, who looks upon 
the outward appearance, shall it not be something with 



464 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



God, who looks upon the heart? Yes, motive is some- 
thing : and many an action which appears fair and com- 
mendable in the eyes of men, is naught- — of no value, and 
even odious in the sight of God, being vitiated by the 
motive. If, for example, we perform an action, good in 
itself, but perform it simply to please ourselves, or to gain 
human applause, without any promptings of a desire to 
honor or please God, certainly there is no real virtue in 
this. Hence the apostle says : " Whether, therefore, ye 
eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of 
God." O how does this principle wither many things, 
fair and beautiful in the eyes of men 1 How it reduces to 
dust and ashes many things deemed vastly meritorious, 
and even deserving of heaven ! Examine your motives, 
then. Are they pure? Are they such as God will 
approve of? Again, you must examine your sentiments. 
Do they square with God's blessed word? "No matter 
what a man's sentiments are," says one, "if his actions 
are right." Is this correct ? Then the believer and the 
unbeliever may be put upon the same level; and our Sav- 
iour uttered strange language when he said—" He that 
believeth on the Son, is not condemned; but he that 
believeth not, is condemned already, because he hath not 
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." 
No matter what a man believes !— let us try the principle* 
Here are two persons, who, outwardly, treat you in a 
manner equally respectful, but their opinions of you are 
widely different. One believes you to be a good man; 
the other believes you to be corrupt. Is sentiment noth- 
ing here? Sentiment is something; and, in relation to 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



465 



religious matters, the Bible is the great standard of correct 
sentiment: 

« The judge which ends the strife, 
Where wit and reason fail." 

Now, there are persons who, because they are not prof- 
ligate or profane, because they are moral men, in the 
common acceptation of the term, think they are in a safe 
state — that they have no need of conversion, and that, 
because they have been men of fair moral character, they 
are fair candidates for heaven— aye, think that they cer- 
tainly will be saved! Has such a man proved his own 
work ? Does this sentiment of his fall in with the decla- 
rations of the sacred volume? Does it fall in with the 
scriptural saying, u Indignation and wrath, tribulation 
and anguish, upon every soul of man that sinneth?" Or 
with this — " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all 
things written in the book of the law to do them?" Or 
with this — " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise per- 
ish?" Or with this — ''Other foundation can no man lay 
than is laid, which is Jesus Christ?" Or with this — "Ex- 
cept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 
God?" My hearers, take care! Palm no deception upon 
yourselves. Remember, all the declarations of this vol- 
ume are true, divinely true, and must stand for ever, as it 
is written, "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in 
heaven." Beware how you trust to your own sentiments 
when they are not in accordance with the word of God 
Most assuredly it will bring perdition upon your soul! 
O, be entreated to bring your sentiments to this great te§t 



466 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



of truth, the Bible ! Let every man dig deep and lay a 
good foundation. "Let every man prove his own work/' 
3. You must compare. — Some persons are ready 
enough in their comparisons, but they happen not to be 
of the right kind ! Some compare themselves with cer- 
tain professors of religion ; and, because they are better, 
(as they suppose,) than those professors of religion, whom 
they are wont to call " hypocrites," they fancy that they 
are very good. But may not a man be better than a 
44 hypocrite," and not be a very good man after all ? 
Some compare themselves with the majority of mankind; 
and because they, as they think, are better than the 
majority of mankind, conclude that they are in a safe state; 
but would not this have been a very unsafe test in the 
days of Noah ? and how know they but it may be an un- 
safe test at the present time ? These comparisons are not 
of the rigLt kind. Permit me to show you "a more ex- 
cellent way." 

First : You must compare yourselves with the characters 
prononnced blessed by the Saviour, in his sermon upon 
the mount. Take this example : 44 Blessed are the poor 
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Has your 
pride been humbled? Are you sensible of your empti- 
ness and poverty, and do you feel your need of a better 
righteousness than your own ? 44 Blessed are the poor in 
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Again : 
44 Blessed are they that morn for they shall be 
comforted." Do you mourn after a godly sort ? Do you 
mourn that you have sinned against a good and gracious 
God? and do you mourn after your own hard heart? 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



467 



" Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be com- 
forted," "■ Weeping may endure for a night, but joy 
cometh in the morning." But take another example: 
" Blessed are the meek." Have you the meekness and 
gentleness of Christ ? Can you bear injuries ? Can you 
forgive your enemies ? Has there been, in such matters, 
a radical change in the temper and disposition of your 
soul ? Has the lion in you been converted into a lamb? 
the vulture into a dove ? " Blessed are the meek. Once 
more : " Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after 
righteousness, for they shall be filled." Do you hunger 
and thirst after righteousness? Do you breathe after 
holiness ? Do you sincerely and earnestly desire to be 
delivered from the least and last remains of sin ? Is there 
a peculiar sweetness and charm in heaven, as a place of 
perfect moral purity, where you shall not have one 
wicked thought, nor one unhallowed feeling, nor one im- 
proper desire, nor utter one sinful word, through all 
eternity ? Can you enter fully into the feelings of the 
poet, when he says, 

" O glorious hour I O, blest abode ! 
I shall be near and like my God ; 
Aud flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred pleasures of the soul." 

And are these lines delightful and refreshing to your 
heart ? 

" There shall we see his face, 
And never, never sin ; 
There, from the rivers of his grace, 
Drink endless pleasures in." 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



I( these beatitudes suit you, then doubtlesss you are the 
children of God. The Saviour does not mention names; 
lie does what is much better, he describes characters, and 
with these characters he connects the blessing. If, then, 
the character is yours, the blessing, of course, is yours 
also. But 

Secondly ■ You are to compare yourselves with those 
known to have been truly pious. Here is a principle, or 
matter of fact, which must never be forgotten — that true 
piety is substantially the same in every age, and in every 
bosom. As face answers to face in water, so does the 
heart of man to man. In all great points, in all essential 
matters, the experience of one pious soul is substantially 
the experience of another. Bring in the rich man and the 
poor man, the learned and the unlearned, the stripling and 
the man of age ; bring in the Methodist and the Presby- 
terian, the Baptist and Episcopalian: in short, bring in 
persons representing the different ranks and classes of 
society, and the different denominations, too ; and, I may 
add, let them come from the different quarters of the 
globe ; let each be soundly converted ; let them have one 
common language, and let them converse freely on the 
subject of Christian experience, and it will be found, that 
in all leading matters of experimental religion, there is 
scarcely a shade of difference between them! Yes, they 
are all brought into the same school; they all have the 
same teacher; they all learn the same lessons — so teaches 
the Bible, as it is written in Isaiah liv. 13: "All thy chil- 
dren shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the 
peace of thy children." It is true, some are, so to speak, 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



469 



more apt scholars — are better taught than others — but, I 
repeat it, all are brought into the same school; all have 
the same teacher ; and all learn the same lessons ! These 
tilings being so, if we would prove our own work ; if we 
would desire to know whether we have the root of the 
matter in us : in other words, if we wish to know whether 
we have the root of the matter in us : in other words, if 
we wish to know whether we are really the children of 
God or not, we must, as we have said, compare ourselves 
with those known to be the children of God. To illus- 
trate what I mean, I will suppose that you are anxious 
about your soul ; you have had some mental distress, and 
some comfort, but your evidence of being a child of God 
is not clear; you wish to prove your own work, or reli- 
gious character. This being the case, I will place you in 
certain circumstances, in which you are to complain 
yourself with those known to be pious, insimilar circum- 
stances, and if there be an agreement, if they have true 
piety, so have you! 

First — I will suppose that you are in circumstances 
of deep affliction. Was not Job a child of God? and 
was he not deeply afflicted ? And now, what was his 
spirit? what the exercises of his mind? what the breath- 
ings of his soul ? They are recorded and distinctly 
marked. Observe — when one wave of affliction after 
another had passed over him, and he was ready to sink 
in deep waters, one said unto him, "Curse God and die." 
And what said he? "Have we received good at the 
jhand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil? The 
Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be 



47o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the name of the Lord. Though he slay me, yet will I 
trust in him." Is this your spirit? Can you truly adopt 
this language? Then, if Job was pious, so are you; if 
eternal life be his reward, you shall possess the same; 
for piety is the same in every age and in every bosom. 

Again : I will suppose that you are thinking upon the 
words of the Saviour: "Except ye repent, ye shall all 
likewise perish." You have had some sorrow of heart 
on account of your sins; you have shed some tears, you 
have heaved some sighs, but you are not entirely satisfied 
that you are a true penitent — do you ask what is to be 
done? I answer — find out some one known to have 
been a true penitent; find out what were the exercises 
of his mind ; compare yours with his, and if they corres- 
pond, then, if he was a penitent, so are you. David was 
certainly a true penitent: but where shall we find the 
penitential exercises of the Psalmist recorded? In the 
fifty-first Psalm. Let us turn to that Psalm, and from the 
language of his lips, we may learn the breathings of his 
soul. What are his words? "Have mercy upon me, O 
God, according to thy loving kindness; according unto 
the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my trans- 
gressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, 
and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my 
transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against 
thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy 
sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, 
and be clear when thou judgest. Create within me a 
clean heart, and renew within me a right spirit. Cast me f 
not away from thy presence, and take not thine Holy 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



471 



Spirit from me." Now, say you read the whole Psalm; 
you here recognize, substantially, the exercises of your 
own mind. You are astonished that one who lived under 
another dispensation, and at a period so remote, should 
have had thoughts and feelings, emotions and desires, 
so exactly corresponding with your own! Is this so? 
Then the case is clear: if David was a penitent, so are 
you; if eternal life be his reward, you shall possess the 
same; for " piety is the same in every age, and in every 
bosom." " 1 et every man prove his own work." 

Again : Touching the matter of faith — I will suppose 
that you have been meditating upon these words, "Be- 
lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." 
You have some hope that you do exercise faith in 
Christ, but you have heard so much about historical 
faith, and speculative faith, and saving faith, and living 
faith, and dead faith, you are bewildered; you know not 
whether you have the right kind of faith — that which 
really and truly unites the soul to Christ, and which has 
the promise of life everlasting. Do you again ask, What 
Ss 6 be done! I answer, as in the former case: find one 
known to have been a true believer; find out what his 
views and feelings were, in relation to our blessed 
Saviour, and if yours correspond with his, then it may be 
known to you whether you are a true believer or not. 
But where shall we find one known to have been a true 
beli ver? Peter was one. Did he ever express his views 
feelings in relation to Christ? He did, and on a 
) nt occasion. Our Saviour had taught cer- 
tain ttiii;ngs which gave offence; and as we are told, many 



472 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 
And Jesus turned to the twelve and said, " Will ye also 
go away ?" And Peter said, " Lord, to whom shall we 
go but unto thee? for thou hast the words of eternal 
life-" As if he had said-: Lord Jesus, thou art our only 
hope — I for one must cling to thee! I am a poor, lost 
sinner, I cannot save myself. Thou art my only, only 
hope! Is this your language? Is this the very feeling 
of your soul? Then your case is clear. If Peter was a 
believer, so are you ! If eternal life be his reward, you 
shall possess the same; for piety is the same in every age 
and in every bosom. " Let every man prove his own 
work." 

Again : We will suppose that you are thinking on the 
subject of the Divine government. You wish to know 
whether your views and feelings in relation to this matter 
are of the right kind ; whether they are such as indicate 
true piety. What is to be done ? Adopt the same plan 
already suggested. Find one known to have true piety; 
find out the breathings of his heart on this subject, com- 
pare yours with his, and then you may know whether 
you belong to the number of the people of God or not. 
Take the case of Isaiah. No man questions his piety. 
What does he say? "Say unto Zion, thy God reigneth." 
This is the language of joy and gratulation — the language 
of one pleased with the thought that God is upon the 
throne, and who wishes the tidings thereof to be carried, 
to be spread on every hand. David was also a child of 
God, and what does he say? "The Lord reigneth! let 
the earth rejoice ! The Lord reigneth, let the multitude 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



473 



of the isles be glad thereof." And again: "The Lord 
shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all gen- 
erations: Praise ye the Lord!" 

But there is a case, if possible, more in point still. It 
is that of those who are around the throne in heaven. 
"And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our 
God, all ye his servants, and all ye that fear him, both 
small and great. And I heard," says John, "as it were, 
the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many 
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, 
Allelulia! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!" Rev. 
xix. 6. Now, is all this in harmony with your feelings 
and desires? Do you rejoice in the government of God 
— in his supreme, universal, and everlasting dominion? 
Is the language, "the Lord reigneth," pleasant to your 
ear? Does the loud and harmonious shout of the heav- 
enly world, "Allelulia! for the Lord God omnipotent 
reigneth!" start the glad response in your soul — Amen! 
Allelulia! If these things are so, you need no audible 
voice, coming from heaven, to assure you that you are a 
child ot God; you need no angel to come down from the 
skies, to assure you that your name is written in the book 
of life. You have the evidence in your own bosom — having 
the spirit and stamp of the people of God. This being clear, 
tneu everything else is clear: and I hesitate not to say, that 
you are a child of God—that you have "a good hope through 
grace." Aye, and it is your privilege, even now, to "re- 
joice in hope of the glory of God." This is taught in our text 
— " L^t every man prove his own work, and then shall he 
have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another," 



474 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



We have explained the precept, we would now lay 
before you, 

II. The motive. — It is expressed in the words just re- 
peated — "Then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, 
and not in another ¥ — that is, he shall have independent 
joy. His consolations shall not flow from anything 
around him, but shall be within him, as a well of water 
springing up into everlasting life. The happiness of 
unconverted man depends, very much, upon outward 
circumstances. When the world smiles upon them, and 
they have temporal prosperity, they may have something 
like pleasure playing around the heart; but when the 
world frowns, and adversity comes, then their springs of 
comfort are cut off, and they are ready to say, with Micah 
— " Ye have taken away my gods, and what have I be- 
side ?" See Cardinal Wolsey! While basking in the 
sunshine of royal favor, he seemed to be a happy man. 
He lived in splendor; he revelled in a palace; noblemen 
were his attendants; and, like Solomon of old, he had 
access to every source of worldly enjoyment. But, when 
reverses came, when Henry VIII. put him out of office, 
and the nobles of the court turned their backs upon him, 
he became a wretched man, and, it is said, died of a bro- 
ken heart. He was no Christian — he had no springs of 
consolation within him; he had no source of rejoicing in 
his own bosom: no gracious affections in exercise; no 
cheering hopes of heavenly bliss. He had nothing to 
sustain him; and literally, his grey hairs went down with 
sorrow to the grave. How different is it with the truly 
pious man! His chief sources of enjoyment are within — ■ 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



475 



deeply seated in his own soul. See, for example, Paul 
and Silas at Phillippi. They are shamefully treated. By 
order of the magistrates they are beaten; they are thrust 
into the inner prison ; their feet are made fast in the stocks; 
the whole world is frowning upon them; and one would 
suppose that they can have no source of comfort what- 
ever. Surely, they are the most wretched persons in 
Phillippi ! It is a mistake. They are the happiest — the 
very happiest! They are too happy to sleep! for, we are 
told, that "at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang 
praises unto God." It is written — "Is any merry? Let 
him sing psalms." At a midnight hour, Paul and Silas 
gave this proof of joyfulness, even in a dungeon! Whilst 
others are wrapped in slumber, Paul and Silas are singing 
— their inward consolations are so great! Yes, this, and 
not sorrow, drives away sleep from their eyes, and slum- 
ber from their eyelids. They are happy! they are joyful ! 
They forget that the gloom of the inner prison is around 
them. Celestial radiance is beaming indirect upon their 
souls!- They forget that their feet are made fast in the 
stocks; they seem to be walking in a large place! Their 
backs, also, are lacerated with stripes; but this, too, is for- 
gotten — their souls are not lacerated; their souls are 
happy! In the midst of all their worldly tribulations, 
they have inward comfort. The full tide of heavenly 
consolation is flowing into every chamber of their souls! 
I repeat it, they are happy — the happiest men in Phillippi ; 
yea, the happiest men in Phillippi! How can this be 
accounted for? Our text explains the whole matter. 
"They have proved their own work; they have full evi- 



470 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

dence that they are the children of God; that God loves 
them; and that soon their "weary feet shall reach the 
peaceful inn of lasting rest." Yes, in their bosom they 
have the blest assurance, that only a little while, and they 
will have shed their last tear! will have heaved their last 
sigh ! will have felt their last pang ! Only a little while, and 
they will be with God and his angels! Only a little while 
and they will be looking their Redeemer in the face with 
joy! Only a little while, and they will be bathing in 
glory, as in the sunlight of heaven ! How beautifully and 
strongly does this illustrate our text — "Let every man 
prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in 
himself alone, and not in another." 

But have we not seen examples before our own eyes ? 
Have we not seen the children of God wonderfully sus- 
tained in the hour of trouble? Have we not seen them 
happy, exceedingly happy, in the time of their deepest 
affliction? Yes, when everything of a temporal nature 
seemed to be against them, they have been enabled to 
say with the prophet, "Although the fig-tree shall not 
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine: the labor of 
the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; 
the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall 
be no herd in the stall; yet will I rejoice in the Lord; 
I will joy in the God of my salvation." Thank God, for 
that religion which can sustain us in the day of severest 
trial, and give us rich consolation amid scenes of deep- 
est worldly sorrow! Which can lighten the heaviest 
burden, and sweeten the bitterest cup, and brighten the 
darkest scene; yea, which in the hour of deepest afflic- 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. 



477 



tion, can give us "a young heaven begun below and 
glory in the bud!" "The people here will say," said the 
late venerated Moses Hoge, when dying in Philadelphia, 
away from his home, "the people here will say, 'Poor 
old man!' Why/' exclaimed he, "I am the happiest man 
in Philadelphia!" "My dear sister," said I to a beloved 
member of my church, who was near her end, "my dear 
sister, how do you find yourself this morning?" Grasping 
my hand, with much emotion, she replied, " My dear pas- 
tor, I am in pain, in great pain; but O," continued she, 
"I am happy! I am happy! O, I am so happy! 

'Jesus can make a dying bed 
Feel soft as downy pillows are!'" 

O, let me but have grace to prove my own work, let 
me only have clear, scriptural evidence that I am a Chris- 
tian, a real Christian, a true child of God, and I am free 
to say, for one, I can be happy on a bed of straw, on a 
bed of affliction! on the rack! on the wheel! bound to 
the stake! or amid the flames of martyrdom! If God be 
for us, who can be against us? Only think ! one short 
night, and then everlasting day! One pang, and then, 
joy! joy! and joy for evermore! "Let every man prove 
his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself 
alone, and not in another." 



478 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



SERMON VIII. 

THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST AND THEIR DESIGN. 

And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama 
sabacthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou for- 
saken me ?— Mark xv. 34. 

Never, O never, my friends, was there a more awful 
hour than that in which these words were pronounced 
by the suffering Jesus! It was an hour of wrath, of awful 
vengeance, of mysterious darkness! It was the dread 
hour of atonement, when the high destinies of man were 
sealed with blood! Nature trembled, and stood aghast! 
Midnight veiled the earth and skies! The universe was 
wrapt in solemn silence, whilst the Eternal Father, bend- 
ing from his awful throne, fixed his eyes on Calvary, and 
laid his hand heavy on the darling of his bosom! Oh! 
what a scene was there! The "Lord of glory," stripped 
of his splendors, surrounded by his enemies, and nailed 
to the accursed tree! His head is wounded with prick- 
ing thorns; his hands and his feet are pierced with 
rugged nails; his precious blood gushes forth, streams 
down, and smokes upon the mount! His -soul is in 
anguish, and almost overwhelmed, he cries with a griev- 
ous and bitter cry, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani? — my 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" O that 
sound! so strange, so awful, so mysterious! Methinks 
it rends the heavens! It reaches the courts of glory! 
Suddenly, the music of heaven dies away! Mute is the 
tongue of the seraph, silent the harps of the angelic 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 479 



throng ! All the heavenly ones gaze in astonishment 
upon the wondrous scene! 

" Around the bloody tree 

They pressed, with strong desire 
That wondrous sight to see, 
The Lord of life expire I 
And could their eyes 
Have known a tear, 
Had dropped it there 
In sad surprise !" 

My brethren, we would present no scene of human 
grandeur, but a scene far better calculated to touch the 
ingenuous heart. We would not rehearse the achieve- 
ments of some mighty conqueror, who has desolated the 
earth, drenched its fields in blood, and grasped his 
laurels, reeking with human gore. No, we would rather 
take you by the hand, and lead you to Calvary, and there 
point out to you our blessed Saviour, suspended on the 
cross. O see ! He suffers ! It is in a cause worthy of 
a God. He dies ! Garlands of victory grace his immor- 
tal brow ; and the rising dead chant his triumphs before 
the eternal throne! But whither would we go? It is 
the suffering, not the triumphing Saviour, we are at 
this time called upon to contemplate. Lo! he hangs 
upon the tree ! Wrapped in a vesture dipped in blood, 
he treads the wine-press of the wrath of Almighty God. 
Now, the mandate goes forth from the throne of the 
Eternal King, "Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, 
and the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord : smite the 
Shepherd 1" • And think, O my soul, the Shepherd was 



480 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



smitten ! The sword of divine vengeance pierced his 
very heart! and now, shrouded in darkness, and almost 
expiring, in agony he cries, " Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani ? 
which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me?" My brethren, here is a scene, a 
spectacle of a most extraordinary character ! It is full 
of wonder and mystery, and is said to be pregnant with 
immense consequences. Nay, it is said to be the point 
upon which hangs the only hope of a ruined world I 
Let us take up the subject at this time, as if we never 
heard of it before. For this purpose, there are three 
inquiries which we would base upon our text: 

I. Who is this sufferer ? 
II. What did he suffer? and 
III. For whom, or what did he suffer? 

I. Who is this sufferer ?— His character is certainly 
unique ; it is without precedent, without parallel ! For 
example: the circumstances connected with his birth, 
show plainly that he is no ordinary personage. What 
says the Evangelist, Matthew ? " When Jesus was born 
in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, 
behold, there came wise men from the east, saying, 
Where is he that is born King of the Jews ? for we have 
seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was 
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had 
gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people 
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be 



i 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 48 1 

born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea : 
for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Beth- 
lehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the 
princes of Juda : for out of thee shall come a Governor, 
that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he 
had privately called the wise men, inquired of them 
diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent 
them to Bethlehem, and said, Go, and search diligently 
for the young child ; and when ye have found him, bring 
me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 
When they had heard the king, they departed; and lo ! 
the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, 
till it came and stood over where the young child was. 
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding 
great joy. And when they were come into the house, 
they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell 
down, and worshipped him ; and when they had opened 
their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold, and 
frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in 
a dream that they should not return to Herod, they 
departed into their own country another way." And 
what says Luke? "There were in the same country 
.shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their 
flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came 
upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around 
about them, and they were sore afraid, And the angel 
said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good 
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For 
unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, 
which is Christ the Lord." "And suddenly there was 



482 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising 
God, and saying-, Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth, peace, good will toward men," Now, these things 
are wonderful. When did a star announce the birth, or 
angels sing the natal song of any other born into the 
world ? 

Again: The circumstances connected with the presen- 
tation of the child Jesus in the temple, show plainly that 
he is no common personage. Luke gives this account of 
the matter: "And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, 
whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and 
devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the 
Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto 
him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death 
before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by 
the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought 
in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the 
law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, 
and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in 
peace, according to thy word : for mine eyes have seen 
thy salvation, which thou has prepared before the face 
of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the 
glory of thy people Israel." These-things also are unpre- 
cedented. Who is this sufferer? The circumstances 
connected with his life show plainly also, that he was no 
ordinary personage. He spake as never man spake. His 
miracles were stupendous, and all miracles of kindness; 
and, on several occasions, miraculous attestations were 
given to his character, peculiar to himself. At his bap- 
tism, the Spirit, in a bodily form, as a dove, descended 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 



483 



and rested upon him; and an audible voice was heard 
from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased." On one occasion, an angel minis- 
tered to him in the desert; and on another, Moses and 
Elijah conversed with him on the mount. He asserted 
his dominion over all things; and, in proof thereof, he 
not only healed the sick, and raised the dead, and cast 
out devils ; he not only opened the eyes of the blind, and 
unstopped the ears of the deaf, and caused the lame man 
to leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb to sing; but 
he stilled the tempest, walked upon the waves of the sea, 
turned water into wine, and declared that he existed 
before Abraham ; and that he was with the Father before 
the world was; and that he was Lord of the Sabbath; and 
that he had power to forgive sins; was the resurrection 
and the life; and would, finally, judge the world at the 
last day! Who is this sufferer? 

The circumstances connected with his death also show 
that he is no common personage. It is true there were 
certain things of a humiliating character connected with 
his death ; but these were closely linked with other things 
of a character entirely different Did Judas betray him 
for thirty pieces of silver? He did; but afterwards he 
brought back to the priests the thirty pieces of silver; 
cast them down in the temple, and, in the agony of an 
accusing conscience, he went out and hanged himself. Did 
Peter deny him? He did; but a few hours afterwards he 
went out and wept bitterly. Did Herod, with his men of 
war, set him at naught and mock him, and array him in a 
gorgeous robe ? He did, and yet was constrained to say 



484 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



that he found no fault in him. Did Pilate condemn him? 
He did; but also, calling for water, he washed his hands, 
and said, I am innocent of the blood of this just man. 
Moreover, we are informed, that whilst Pilate was upon 
the judgment-seat, his wife sent unto him, and said, "Have 
thou nothing to do with that just man, for I have this day 
suffered many things in a dream, because of him." Was 
he crucified? He was; but there was darkness over all 
the land, from the sixth to the ninth hour! Did he finally 
bow his head, and give up the ghost? He did; but the 
veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the 
bottom; and the rocks were rent; and the graves were 
opened ; and many bodies of the saints, which slept, arose 
and came out of their graves after his resurrection, and 
went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 

When he was laid in Joseph's sepulchre, it is true, he 
was under the power of death. Moreover, a great stone 
was rolled to the door of the sepulchre. The stone was 
sealed, and a guard was set; but on the morning of the 
third day, "behold, there was a great earthquake; for the 
angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came, and 
rolled back the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and 
sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and 
his raiment white as snow." And, finally, he led his 
disciples " out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his 
hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, whilst he 
blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up 
into heaven." These are all wonderful things, and we 
find nothing like them in connection with any other who 
ever appeared on earth. The question then returns, Who 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 



485 



is this sufferer? I answer — First: He is no mere man. 
I know it, for the Bible tells us that his goings forth 
have been from of old, even from everlasting. This can 
be affirmed of no mere man; and therefore we know that 
he is no mere man. Nor can he be any mere angel. 
We know it, for the apostle expressly says, " He took 
not on him the nature of angels." Who is this mysteri- 
ous personage ? He is no mere creature, however ex- 
alted. His works prove this; for, according to the 
Scriptures, " the world was made by him, and the world 
knew him not." His names and titles prove the same 
thing; for, in the Bible, he is called, "God," Heb. i. 8; 
"The mighty God," Isa. ix. 6; "The Lord of glory," 
Rev. i. 11; "Alpha and Omega," "the Almighty," and 
"God over all, blessed forever." These names and titles 
can* be applied to no mere creature, however exalted ; 
and, therefore, Jesus Christ is no mere creature. In cor- 
roboration of this, notice this language of Paul, speaking 
of Christ : " He took upon him the form of a servant" 
Now, the loftiest creatures are, in the very nature of the 
case, God's servants; but if Christ took upon him the 
form of a servant, he must originally have possessed a 
nature above that of the loftiest creature, and therefore 
could not have been any mere creature, however exalted. 
But the question is still before us, Who is this sufferer? 
Isaiah tells us: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son 
is given ; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. 
And his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, 
the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince 
of Peace." John tells us, (ch. i. 1,) "In the beginning 



486 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



was the word; and the word was with God, and the 
word was God. And the word was made flesh, and 
dwelt amongst us; and we beheld his glory as the glory 
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and 
truth." Indeed, the Saviour himself tells us, "I am the 
root and offspring of David." This is enough — we are 
now prepared to affirm that this blessed sufferer is very 
God, and very man : in other words, he has a two-fold 
nature — the divine and the human — in mysterious, yet 
all harmonious union. Do you stumble at the mystery? 
Paul did not; for, says he, "without controversy, great is 
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the 
flesh." But it may be objected, Does not the sufferer, 
addressing the everlasting Father, say, "My God, my 
God?" I answer, he does. But if this disproves the 
supreme divinity of the Son, then when the Fafher, 
addressing the Son, calls him God, saying, "Thy throne, 
O God, is for ever and ever," (Heb. i. 8,) by a parity of 
reason, this disproves the supreme divinity of the Father, 
also. No, my brethren, the doctrine of the two-fold 
nature of Christ, though mysterious, is true. In relation 
to his divine nature, he was the Mighty God, the Ever- 
lasting Father; in reference to his human nature, he was 
a child born, a son given. As regards the divine nature, 
the Word was God; as regards the human nature, the 
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. As to his 
divine nature, Christ was the "Root" of David — the 
source of David's being; as to his human nature, he was 
David's "offspring" — David's son. But if the doctrine 
of the two-fold nature of Christ be mysterious, it is true, 



PROVE YOUR OWN WORK. \ 487 

as we have said, and not only is it true, but needful. 
He must have a human nature, to obey the law, and a 
divine nature to give merit to that obedience. He must 
have a human nature to suffer, a divine nature to give 
efficacy to his sufferings. He must have a human nature 
to have a brother's heart; a divine nature to have an 
Almighty arm. O, my brethren, if the doctrine of the 
two-fold nature of Christ be mysterious, remember, it is 
both true and needful, and, I may add, precious ! Paul 
evidently thought it so; hence this language, "We have 
not a high-priest, who cannot be touched with a feeling 
of our infirmities, but was, in all points, tempted like as 
we are, yet without sin." Yes, we know now who the 
sufferer is. His character is developed— his nature is 
made known. One distant, and yet near! One who 
unites in himself bbth the divine and human nature — all 
the glories of God, attempered with the milder beauties 
of a perfect man. Having given a scriptural answer to 
the first inqniry, we proceed to consider, 

II. What did he suffer? — The sufferings of our Saviour 
were great, all the time he sojourned on earth ; but we 
believe that his sufferings reached their climax when he 
uttered the cry in our text. Then it was that the storm 
of wrath which was hastening on to break down the 
pillars of the earth, and sweep its guilty millions into an 
everlasting hell, fell, in all its fury, upon this great 
sufferer! But, not to anticipate, we remark, First: That 
he suffered great loss. If some mighty earthly monarch 
should be stripped of his crown, and reduced to the con- 
dition of a plebeian subject; or if some rich man should 



488 ; REVIVAL SERMONS. 



be deprived of all his possessions, and be reduced to the 
condition of a houseless and friendless beggar, you 
would certainly think he had sustained great loss. Now, 
think of Him, who once commanded the treasures of the 
universe, but on earth had no place where to lay his 
sacred head. According to the Scriptures, our blessed 
Saviour emptied himself — though he was rich, for our 
sakes he became poor, that we, through his poverty, 
might be rich. One said, " Master, I will follow thee 
whithersoever thou goest." And what was his reply? 
"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have 
nests ; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his 
head." And John mentions a circumstance, which, I 
confess, I had long overlooked : on a certain occasion, 
the Saviour taught the multitude; and when the evening 
came, "every man went into his own house;" but "Jesus 
went to the Mount of Olives !" Blessed Saviour ! The 
poorest of his hearers had some house; but Jesus had 
none ! So he went to the Mount of Olives ! Ah, my 
brethren, it is even so — u Though he was rich, for our 
sakes he became poor!" Yes, he suffered great loss. 
But, 

Secondly: He suffered great indignity. If a true 
prophet should be treated as an impostor, or a lawful 
monarch as a plebian subject, you would say that an 
indignity had been done to him. Now remember that 
this sufferer is expressly called " the Lord of Glory." He 
is, indeed and in truth, the Son of God, and only think 
of the treatment he met with on earth. He was the 
"Rose of Sharon," but he was esteemed as a "a root out 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 489 



of a dry ground." He was the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand, but he was considered as one "without form or 
comeliness." He was the " angel of the covenant," but 
he received not the honors of an angel. His own people 
shunned his embrace, as though he was some malignant 
fiend, whose touch was death, and whose breath was a 
lasting pestilence. But he was more than an angel. He 
was the "Lord of angels;" he was "the brightness of the 
Father's glory, and the express image of his person;" and 
when he gave proof of it, by the commanding evidence 
of the most stupendous miracles, his enemies raged 
against him more and more. Their malice and envy have 
kindled up a fire in their bosoms. They desire his death! 
They thirst for his blood! They long for the time to 
come when they shall feast their eyes with his streaming 
veins, and regale their ears with his dying groans ! O 
see! an impious, ruffian band has invaded the retirement 
of our blessed Saviour! Their daring, sacriligious hands, 
have bound him fast ! — Shall I proceed? Shall I rehearse 
what followed ? It was enough to make an angel weep ! 
It was enough to draw down thunderbolts of wrath! He 
is taken to the hall of Caiaphas; he is then hurried to 
Pilate's judgment-bar! He is next taken to Herod, who, 
with his men of war, set him at naught! They plait a 
crown of thorns, and put it upon his head, and, bowing 
the knee, they smite him upon the head! He is next 
sent back to Pilate — false witnesses rise up against him ! 
None dare appear in his behalf. The hall, the court, the 
very heavens, ring with the cry, "Crucify him! Crucify 
him!" Overawed by a raging multitude, Pilate gives 



490 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



sentence against him. And now all seemed licensed to 
revile and insult God's only Son ! He is blindfolded and 
smitten upon the cheek! An insulting voice is heard, 
saying, Prophesy, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee? 
They buffet him, they scourge him, they spit in his face! 
And now the cross is erected; the instruments of torture 
are prepared. The third hour is come. O dreadful hour! 
A deed is done at which all worlds recoil with horror. 
The bleseed Jesus is nailed to the cross — and that, too, 
between two malefactors, as though he were the chief 
malefactor. "The sun beheld the scene! No! the 
shocking scene drove back his chariot! midnight veiled 
his face!" O what a moment was that! But is not ma- 
lice at length charmed into pity ? Is not envy at last 
converted into love? No, no! His enemies triumph and 
exult. They revile, they rail, they wag their heads, and 
exclaim, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest 
it in three days, come down from the cross, and we will 
believe ! This is echoed back by the chief priests and 
Pharisees, who contemptuously cry out and say, " He 
saved others, himself he cannot save." And now, 

"A solemn darkness veils the sky, 

A sudden trembling shakes the ground." 

But hark ! a voice is heard : it comes from the suffering 
Jesus! Is it — Angels of my Father! crush these mur- 
derers dead? Vengeance of my God! blast them to an 
everlasting hell? O no ! It is the language of the angel 
of mercy: of the divine and compassionate Saviour of the 
world. It is this; "Father forgive them, they know not 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 



491 



what they do/' O, what a sufferer, and what indignities 
did he suffer! But, 

Thirdly: Our Saviour suffered great mental anguish 
Whilst his bodily sufferings must have been very great, 
(as he had all the physical sensibilities of human nature,) 
we have reason to believe that his mental sufferings, or 
the sorrows of his soul, were infinitely greater. Hence, 
it is said, "He made his soul an offering for sin;" and 
again, " He poured out his soul unto death." See this 
blessed sufferer in the garden; what is his language? — 
" Now is my soul exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." 
And again, " O, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup 
pass from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou 
wilt." This prayer he offered a second time; and even 
yet a third time his plaintive voice is heard uttering the 
same thing : O, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup 
pass from me : nevertheless, not what I will, but what 
thou wilt/' "And," says the Evangelist, "being in an 
agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it 
were, great drops of blood, falling down upon the ground." 
What is this ? As yet, no impious hand had smitten his 
cheek; no rugged nails had pierced his hands or feet; nor, 
as yet, had he been buffeted or scourged. Was it the 
anticipation of these things that overwhelmed him with 
sorrow ? Was it the dread of such things which caused 
his prayer of agony and bloody sweat! Oh no! for on 
the cross he made no complaint of outward sufferings, 
He says not, O wicked soldiers ! O cruel death ! but- 
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" It is 
admitted that there is something mysterious in this mat- 



492 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



ter. We cannot understand it now — we probably never 
will in this world. The main idea, however, seems to be 
this: The sinner was exposed to the frown of the Ever- 
lasting Father. Jesus Christ became the sinner's substi- 
tute; and, in some way or other, inexplicable to us, these 
frowns rested upon him. Whilst in the garden, and on 
the cross, the mandate went forth, "Awake, O sword, 
against my Shepherd ! and against the man that is my 
Fellow, saith the Lord!" Whilst in the garden and on 
the cross, he was made to tread the wine-press of the 
wrath of Almighty God! Men did rail; devils did rage; 
hell did howl. All the billows of the pit, did, as it were, 
roll over his holy soul ! Suddenly, even the light of the 
divine countenance was withdrawn, God the Father 
frowns upon the Son of his love. O this frown! this 
mysterious, tremendous frown ! It spreads an unearthly 
gloom over the mind of the sufferer; it wraps his soul in 
agony; it extorts the piercing, bitter cry* "Eloi, Eloi, 
lama sabacthani? My God! my God! why hast thou for- 
saken me?" Thank God! the cloud soon passed away. 
The tide of sorrow ceased to flow. "It is finished!" said 
the dying but triumphant Saviour, and that word sealed 
the redemption of a ruined world! But this brings us to 
consider, more particularly, the last inquiry based upon 
our text: 

III. For whom or for what did he thus suffer ? Not 
for himself. No, he was holy, harmless, undefiled, and 
separate from sinners. There was nothing in his own 
person to attract the lightnings of divine vengeance. 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 493 



For whom or what, then, did he suffer ? Not for sinning 
angels. No, for, 

** From heaven the sinning angels fell ; 
And wrath and darkness chained them down." 

This glorious one never interposed to shield them. They, 
in righteous judgement, were left exposed to wrath; 
were left to bear the punishment of their own sin. The 
question then returns again, For whom or for what did 
Christ suffer? This question is one which comes near 
to us, and one, methinks, which should have power to 
melt the hardest heart, and subdue the most rebellious 
soul. Only think! the very objects for which Christ 
suffered are not far away. They are near us. They are 
within the walls of this very house, this very day ! He 
suffered for sinners of Adam's race! This doctrine is 
abundantly taught in this volume. It is confirmed by 
the testimony of many, who "spake as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost." "Christ, our Passover," says Paul, 
"was sacrificed for us ;" yea, " died for us." "He suf- 
fered for us," says Peter; yea, "he himself bare our sins 
in his own body on the tree." And what is the language 
of John? "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but 
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation 
for our sins." And again, hear the beautiful doxology, 
which he offers up in his own name, and that of the 
whole Church, militant and triumphant — "Unto him that 
loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood ; 
and hath made us kings and priests unto God, and his 
Father — to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 
Amen." 



494 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



But observe, this doctrine of the atonement, or substi- 
tutionary sacrifice of Christ, was equally well known to 
the prophets of ancient days. Hence the language of 
Isaiah: "He was wounded for our transgressions; he 
was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our 
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 
All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned 
every one to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid upon 
him the iniquity of us all." And Zechariah, speaking in 
the name of the Lord, evidently has reference to the 
same thing, when he uses this language : "As for thee, 
also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy 
prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water." The 
Saviour himself taught the same doctrine of the atone- 
ment, when he said, " I am the good shepherd ; the good 
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep/' And certainly, 
also, there is reference to the same thing, what time all 
the redeemed in heaven are represented as singing this 
song : " Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open 
the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed 
us to God, by thy blood, out of every kindred, and 
tongue, and people, and nation. ,, Whatever cavils or 
objections may be started against the doctrine by scep- 
tics and unbelievers, we see plainly it is a Bible doctrine; 
it is written in the Scriptures as with a sunbeam. Yes, it 
is the great central doctrine of the Christian system, 
around which all others revolve, and upon which all 
others depend. Strike it out, and you strike the sun 
from the firmament! you wrap the whole world in gloom! 
you shroud the whole family of man in the darkness of 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 495 



never-ending despair! But the doctrine is not only a 
Bible doctrine, it is most precious. It is full of beauty 
and sweetness ; of grandeur and of glory. It is calcu- 
lated to excite the highest admiration; to fill the whole 
soul with the full tide of wonder, love, and joy. 

You may have seen the representation given of this 
matter by Christmas Evans, the eloquent Welsh divine. 
I do not recollet his words; I give you, as well as I can, 
the main idea: Suppose a large enclosure, walled up to 
heaven, with gates of brass. Within this enclosure, a 
large multitude of human beings, presenting every form 
and variety of woe. On the outer side, Mercy is seen, 
leaning upon the gate weeping. As, ever and anon, she 
looks through the bars, at the wretched crowd, she sighs, 
and exclaims, "O that this gate were open! O that I 
could but enter in! I would heal the sick; I would raise 
the fallen; I would cheer the faint; I would bind up the 
broken-hearted; I would soothe the wretched; I would 
wipe away the tears from the eyes of the sorrowful; I, 
would diffuse happiness on every hand!" Just at this 
time, the heavens are opened, and the Son of God is seen 
descending, in pomp and grandeur, surrounded by a host 
of mighty angels. Hovering over the gate, he looks 
kindly at Mercy, as she weeps, and says, " Mercy, why 
weepest thou?" "Mine eyes affect my heart," replies 
Mercy; "I have gazed at this wretched throng; I have 
contemplated their many sorrows. Their case is truly 
an evil one. O, that this gate were opened! 0 ; that I 
could enter in! I would heal the sick; I would raise 
the fallen ! I would cheer the faint; I would bind up 



49^ 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the broken-hearted; I would make them happy!" "And 
why can you not enter in?" says the Son of God. 
"These," replies Mercy, "are sinners; they have rebelled 
against the Eternal King, and stern Justice has reared 
these walls to heaven, and bolted and barred this gate 
of brass/' " Is there no remedy ?" said the Son of God. 
"None/* said Mercy; and again she sighed, and her 
tears trickled down! "No remedy?" repeated the Son 
of God. " None," said Mercy, " except one of sufficient 
dignity can be found, who would be willing to make an 
atonement for them — bearing their sins, in his own body, 
upon the tree." " Do I possess sufficient dignity ?" said 
the Son of God. Mercy bowed before the " Brightness 
of the Father's glory, and the express image of his per- 
son." Justice was appealed to by the heavenly One. 
Justice bowed low in the presence of Jehovah's equal — 
in the presence of him whom all the angels in heaven are 
commanded to worship and adore. That was a time 
of love. The heart of the Blessed One yearned over 
Adam's race; and he said, "Upon me be this evil, Justice. 
I will take their place. For them, I will make the great 
atonement ; I will bear their sins, in my own body, upon 
the tree." "When?" said Justice. "Four thousand 
years from this time," replied the Son of God. It was 
ratified ; it was recorded in the archives of heaven. And 
Justice, with a mighty hand, opened the ponderous gate ; 
and Mercy entered. With angel speed, she flew ! She 
mingled with the crowd; she healed the sick ; she raised 
the fallen; she cheered the faint; she bound up the 
broken hearted; she made many, many happy! She 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 497 



was engaged in this blessed work through the long roll 
of four thousand years. At the time appointed, Justice 
descended, upon a black and stormy cloud. His hand 
grasped fierce lightnings — at his feet rolled mighty 
thunders ! The earth trembled, and the sun ceased to 
shine! "Mercy!" exclaimed stern Justice. "Mercy! 
the hour is come! Where is the substitute?" "Yonder 
he is," replies Mercy; "yonder he is, bearing his cross 
on Calvary's brow!" Justice looked up to heaven, and 
called for fire to descend, and light upon the soul of the 
holy Jesus ! Fire descended upon the victim ! It burned, 
and burned furiously! It consumed the humanity, but 
when it touched the divinity, it expired! And Mercy, 
with joy unutterable, exclaimed, " Glory to God in the 
highest, on earth peace, good will toward men !" Yea, 
heaven rang jubilee, whilst saints and angels, without 
number shouted, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth 
peace, good will toward men !" 

O my brethren, the scene presented on Calvary was 
truly a wonderful scene ! The work there accomplished 
was, beyond all comparison, a mighty work, a glorious 
work. It is that which will add countless millions of 
happy beings to the already innumerable host of shining 
ones in glory! and that which will, through all the 
cycles of endless years, fill the great temple of God 
Almighty with sounding praise! And, my Christian 
brethren, what shall we say of Him, who, as we "have 
already said, on the cross crushed the serpent's head, 
calmed the frowns of angry justice, and there won for 
his people crowns of glory, and thrones of everlasting 



498 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



splendor ? Well has the name " Wonderful" been added 
to the splendid list of names and titles which he bears 
and will forever bear! He is wonderful in his two- 
fold nature, being both God and man ! He is won- 
derful in his birth; wonderful in his life; wonderful 
in his death ; wonderful in his resurrection, and wonder- 
ful in his ascension. He is wonderful in the eyes of 
angels, and wonderful in the eyes of all worlds; but 
especially should he be considered wonderful in our 
eyes, for O how wonderful was that love which caused 
him to suffer such loss, such indignity, and such untold 
sorrows on our account! How wonderful that he who 
was so rich should, for our sakes, become so poor ! That 
he who in heaven commanded the treasures of the uni- 
verse, should on earth have no place where to lay his 
head ! How wonderful, that he who was originally the 
brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image 
of his person, should wrap his Godhead in a veil of our 
inferior clay! How wonderful, that he who was God's 
co-equal, co-eternal Son, should exchange the bosom of 
his Father for a manger ! How wonderful, that he who 
is the Fountain of all glory, should become a " Man of 
sorrows, and acquainted with grief!" that he who is the 
Angel of Mercy, should find no mercy himself! that he 
who is the final Judge, should himself stand condemned 
at Pilate's bar ! How wonderful, that he whose title is 
" King of kings and Lord of lords," should exchange his 
throne for a cross, his diadem of glory for a crown of 
thorns, and his robes of light and majesty for a vesture 
dipped in blood! Think, O my soul, how wonderful, 



THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 499 

that he who was the source of all honor, should be 
buffeted, *and scourged, and spit upon! that he who was 
the Prince of life, should be slain ! and that he whom the 
heaven of heavens cannot contain, should be laid in 
Joseph's tomb! "Without controversy, great is the 
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." 
Wonderful, wonderful Saviour ! 

" Come, expressive silence, muse his praise." 



SERMON IX* 

THE TOMB OF JESUS. 
Come Bee the place where the Lord lay,— Matt xxviii. 6. 

Theke is a power of association, and the exercise of 
this oftentimes awakens feelings both pleasant and mourn- 
ful to the soul. Returning, for example, to the place of 
our nativity, after a long absence, how do the recollections 
of former times crowd upon the mind! The scenes of 
our childhood are before us, and every object around 
serves to give rise to a train of pleasing or saddening 
reflection. This house, that field, this beaten pathway, that 
shady grove — all have a nameless charm, by reason of 
certain tender recollections associated with them. Walk 
over the field of battle, where the contest raged which 
decided the fate of your country; and, if there her inde- 
pendence was achieved, how sacred is the spot — how 

*For some fine thoughts in this sermon, I acknowledge myself indebted 
to Dr. Sprague, of Albany. 



5oo 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



pleasant are all the associations thereof! But if there 
"freedom shrieked," and • the chains of despotism were 
made strong, you sigh and turn away. Visit the subterra- 
nean ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii; and as you 
stand amid the relics of ancient magnificence and grand- 
eur, there is, so to speak, a resurrection of the dead 
before you. You can almost imagine that you are ac- 
tually holding converse with those over whose slumber- 
ing ashes many a long century has rolled. Enter the 
graveyard, approach that hallowed spot, where sleeps in 
death some venerated father, or beloved mother, or wife, 
or brother, or sister, or some sweet little babe; and how 
does busy memory hurry you back to some past scene of 
domestic enjoyment ! The scenes of by-gone days are 
full before you ; and under the influence of a kind of mo- 
mentary delirium, you are ready to speak to the very 
dead, and say — "Farewell, dear object of my tenderest 
affections, farewell!" Silence reigns! Pensive you hang 
over the cold monumental marble; or, in the sadness of 
a smitten heart, you gaze upon the rank grass which 
waves over precious dust. Still, silence reigns! A soft 
enchantment is upon you. You linger — you look — you 
drop the tear of affection — you think unutterable things ! 
O how sacred is that spot! How tender are all the asso- 
ciations thereof! Disciples of Jesus, you, who this day 
are to commemorate his dying love, "come, see the place 
where the Lord lay !" There was a garden, and in that 
garden there was a sepulchre : there laid they the body 
of our Lord. It was the work of a friend, the last sad 
tribute of his love. Yes, the bloody deed had now been 



THE TOMB OF JESUS. 



501 



accomplished; the Lord of glory had been crucified and 
slain. He had bowed his head upon the cross, and 
exclaimed, with his dying breath, "It is finished!" The 
soldier, too, had thrust the spear into his side, when Jos- 
eph of Arimathea, a rich man, and who also was one of 
Jesus' disciples, went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the 
body of our Lord. Having obtained the precious boon, he 
took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and 
laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewed out of 
the rock. See O ! see ! there sleeps in death the Re- 
deemer of the world ! 

" Three days within the grave's unbroken gloom 

The hope of Israel slept ; 
Three mournful days, around the hallowed tomb, 

The chosen watch was kept." 

And now the grey dawn is seen in the east; the shad- 
ows of night are fleeing away. Let us, in imagination, 
fall in with the beloved women, who, with spices and 
ointments, are going to the sepulchre. And, as they 
were going, they said among themselves, "Who shall 
roll us away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre ?" 
And when they came, they saw that the stone was rolled 
away; for it was very great" And now commences a 
series of events, the most surprising that men or angels 
ever Witnessed. But let us hear the narrative of the 
Evangelist: "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to 
dawn, toward the first day of the week, came Mary Mag- 
dalene and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. And, 
behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of 
the Lord descended from heaven, and came, and rolled 



502 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

back the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and sat 
upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his rai- 
ment white as snow. And, for fear of him, the keepers 
did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel 
answered, and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I 
know that ye seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not 
here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place 
where the Lord lay ; and go quickly, and tell his disci- 
ples that he is risen from the dead ; and, behold, he goeth 
forth before you into Galilee ; there shall ye see him : lo, 
I have told you." What strange tidings are these! The 
Master risen from the dead! Yes, it is even so; for the 
beloved women have seen a vision of angels, which 
affirmed the fact. Nay, one in bright clothing points to 
the empty tomb, and says, " Come, see the place where 
the Lord lay!" Is this a dream? Is this the vision of a 
distempered imagination? O no; for there sits the angel 
in bright clothing! — and his voice, it rings so sweetly 
upon the ear, " Come, see the place where the Lord lay." 
As if he had said, Let the keepers shake, and become as 
dead men! I have no word of comfort for them. But, 
beloved women, fear not ye. I know what brought you 
here. I see the spices and ointments in your hands: 
Fear not ye; nor is there any occasion for spices and 
ointments now! The Lord is risen ! is risen indeed! Do 
you doubt it? The body is gone! The tomb is empty! 
" Come, see the place where the Lord lay !" O that 
sacred, hallowed spot! How dear are all the associations 
thereof! They are such as dying Christians may well 
linger upon: they are such as saints in glory love; and 



THE TOMB OF JESUS. 503 

such as may form an appropriate and delightful theme 
for this, the morning of our communion Sabbath. 

I. " Come, see the place where the Lord lay," and 
mark the proof of his resurrection. When the angel 
said, "He is not here, but is risen," he points to the 
empty tomb, as proof of the fact. I know that in ordi- 
nary circumstances, the absence of a body deposited in 
a tomb, or sepulchre, is no proof, whatever, of the resur- 
rection of that body ; but in the case before us, it is the 
most convincing that can be adduced. Observe, it is 
admitted that the body of our Saviour was laid in the 
tomb. It is admitted that when there laid, it was under 
the power of Death. It is admitted that our Lord fre- 
quently predicted that he would rise again from the dead 
on the third day. And it is well known that the chief 
priests and elders had special reasons for falsifying, if 
they could, the predictions of our Lord. Moreover, that 
a stone was rolled to the door of the sepulchre; that 
this stone was sealed, and a guard was set — these things 
also are not denied ; and yet, on the morning of the third 
day, the body is not there ! The tomb is empty — the 
body gone! Now, the question is, What has become 
of that body? If not risen, it must have been taken 
away. By whom? Not by the chief priests and Phari- 
sees; this was the very thing against which they wished 
to guard. Not by the Roman band. They had no 
inducement. By whom, then, was it taken away ? Not 
by the disciples of our Lord. They neither would, nor 
could. They would not, for he had been laid there by a 
friend, and they had no motive to disturb his repose. 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



But suppose that they had desired never so much to take 
away his body, it was entirely out of their power; for 
they were a few disheartened ones, and the Roman band 
was sixty strong. But suppose the disciples had resolved, 
at all hazards, to take away the body of their Master ; 
there must have been a struggle. But there is no men- 
tion made of this struggle. But, said the chief priest to 
some of the watch, who came and told him what had 
transpired in the morning, say ye, "his disciples came 
and stole him away while we slept." Mark! a guard 
of sixty soldiers asleep! all asleep! and so profoundly 
asleep, that the noise necessarily occasioned by the 
rolling away of a great stone, and the removing of the 
body, awaked not a single one ! Believe this, who can ! 
and yet we are obliged to believe this, or the account 
given by the Evangelist, for a substantial reason— there 
is no other. Now, remember, first, the testimony of 
Mary Magdalene, to whom our Saviour appeared first 
after his resurrection from the dead; then the testimony 
of the other women, to whom he also appeared, saying, 
"All hail!" and next comes the testimony of the two 
disciples, who saw him while on their way to Emmaus ; 
then the testimony of the eleven, to whom he appeared, 
as they sat at meat, the door being shut; and, last of all, 
hear the testimony of the converted Pharisee, who once 
breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the 
disciples of Christ. I have received of the Lord, says 
he, that which I also delivered unto you, how that Jesus 
Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; 
that he was buried, that he rose from the dead again on 



THE TOMB OF JESUS. 



the third day, according to the Scriptures ; that he was 
seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that, he was 
seen of about five hundred brethren at once, the greater 
part of whom remain unto this present time, but some 
are fallen asleep. Last of all, he was seen of me, also, as 
of one born out of due time. Now, consider these wit- 
nesses, their number, their credibility, and how they bear 
united testimony to the resurrection of Christ from the 
dead, and say, if human testimony can establish any fact, 
under heaven, is not this fact established? The Lord is 
risen — is risen indeed ! But some may be ready to say, 
the speaker has consumed time unnecessarily, in thus 
entering upon the proof of a fact which we all admit. 
Now, so far from this being a needless consumption of 
time, I must beg your indulgence whilst I occupy a little 
more time upon the same subject; for I deem the matter 
of great importance, and shall, I hope, make this to 
appear in a few moments. 

Suppose a person, utterly unacquainted with the early 
history of our beloved country, should arrive at the port 
of New York on the morning of the 4th of July. Flags 
are flying, drums are beating, bells are ringing, cannon 
are firing, the military are parading. Everything indi- 
cates the return of some joyous day, some grand jubilee. 
The stranger is astonished. By and by the citizens are 
seen gathering together in crowds, and wending their 
way to some splendid edifice. He mingles with the 
throng, and soon finds himself seated in some spacious 
hall, tastefully decorated. He looks around upon a "sea 
of heads" — every eye sparkling, every face dressed in 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



smiles. At a signal given, silence reigns. An individual 
rises in some conspicuous place, and holding in his hand 
a book, reads what is called "The Declaration of Inde- 
pendence." Another follows with a heart-stirring oration. 
He gives an account of the Revolutionary struggle in 
strains of thrilling eloquence ; he rehearses the achieve- 
ments of the patriots and heroes of that day; and, in 
winding up, he apostrophizes the shade of Washington, 
and, pointing to the star spangled banner leaning upon 
the wall, exclaims, * Long may it wave over the land of 
the free, and the home of the brave!" Deafening shouts 
are heard; martial music strikes up, and as the crowd, 
all joyous, retires, suppose the stranger comes up to one 
who is an American, and says, "Stranger, can you tell 
me the meaning of all this? Why the waving of so many 
flags? the ringing of so many bells? the firing of so 
many cannon? and what means the scene presented in 
this house?" " O," says the American, with his cheeks 
flushed with patriotic feeling, "this is the Fourth of 
July!" "The Fourth of July! and what do you mean 
by that?" "Why, sir, I mean that this is the birthday 
of our nation's independence!" Now, suppose this 
foreigner should sneeringly say, " The birthday of your 
nation's independence! There is no such thing! You 
Americans are all gulled! You are a very simple people 
to believe any such thing. The Declaration of Independ- 
ence, as you call it, is a forgery, and that oration all a 
farce. There was never such an historical event as you 
all pretend to commemorate !" 

My brethren, you understand the matter: you know 



THE TOMB OF JESUS. 507 

the application I would make. — From the beginning of 
the world to a certain period, the seventh day of the week 
was set apart as the weekly Sabbath. From that period, 
down to the present time, the first day of the week has, 
by the most enlightened nations upon earth, been set 
apart — to commemorate what ?— - the resurrection of Christ 
from the dead. Now, the question is, How could so many 
nations harmoniously agree to set apart a day to com- 
memorate an event, which event never took place? The 
thing is impossible. The very existence, then, of the 
Christian Sabbath, is a standing monument — is proof pos- 
itive of the fact which it commemorates — the resurrection 
of Christ. This is an argument which, we think, cannot 
be resisted; an argument which will "stand the the test 
of scrutiny, of talents, and of time." Yes, the Lord is 
risen— is risen indeed ! Thank God, our Redeemer 
slumbers no longer in the tomb ! He has triumphed over 
death! He has triumphed over the grave! The Lord 
is risen, is risen indeed! Hail to the day that saw 
him rise! Come to the tomb of Jesus, and mark the 
proof of his resurrection ! 

II. "Come, see the place where the Lord lay," and 
mark the truth of the Christian religion. This is insepa- 
rably connected with the fact of the resurrection of Christ 
from the dead. Prove the one, and the other follows, as 
a matter of course. Hence, I have thought it no waste 
of time, to make the proof of the resurrection of Christ 
perfectly plain and convincing. This established, we have 
an argument for the truth of Christianity, which, I humbly 
conceive, may not be set aside. Let us look at the matter. 



508 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

It is well known that the Old Testament prophets pre- 
dicted the resurrection of the Messiah. Our Saviour 
himself frequently affirmed that he would rise again from 
the dead, on the third day. Nay, he was willing to rest 
the proof of his Messiahship upon this very point. Now, 
then, if Christ be not risen from the dead, he is not the 
predicted Messiah, he is not what he declared himself to 
be — the Son of God, and the only Saviour of the world. 
But, if he be risen from the dead, as we have so clearly 
demonstrated, then is he, beyond all doubt, the predicted 
Messiah, the Son of God, and the only Saviour of the 
world; and, consequently, the religion which he taught is 
divinely true. This argument was urged with great force 
by the apostle Peter, on the day of Pentecost; and it 
flashed conviction upon three thousand, and was the 
means of their immediate conversion to Christianity. And 
we find the apostle Paul laying great stress upon the same 
thing : indeed he makes the doctrine of the resurrection 
of Christ that upon which the truth or falsehood of the 
Christian religion must depend. Observe his language: 
"If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain: ye are yet 
in your sins. Then they, also, which have fallen asleep 
in Christ are perished; but now," continues he, (and 
his heart kindles at the thought,) "but now is Christ 
risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them 
that slept." 

If there be an unbeliever present, I would respectfully 
request h . : to take home with him the argument for the 
truth of the Christian religion, drawn from the resurrec- 
tion of Christ, and I am bold to say he will find it one 



THE TOMB OF JESUS. 509 

perfectly convincing, perfectly unanswerable. How 
thankful should we' be, that the truth of our religion is so 
clear and plain! The glorious superstructure of our 
faith has many massive pillars to sustain it, but the resur- 
rection of Christ from the dead is the grand central pil- 
lar— 0 the keystone of the arch, which shuts and binds 
the whole." 

J ust here, let us for a moment pause, and think — Is the 
Christian religion true? Then let us remember that 
there is a God in the heavens, a pure and holy God, 
whose eye is ever upon us; and that we and this God 
must meet. Is the Christian religion true? Then let us 
not forget that we are sinners, and need a Saviour; and 
that " other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which 
is Jesus Christ." Is the Christian religion true? Then 
let us remember that there is a heaven, a world of un- 
speakable and everlasting joy; and also a hell, a world 
of unspeakable and everlasting sorrow; and that we are 
all, this very moment, going towards the one or the other! 
Is the Christian religion true? Then I appeal to every 
candid person, is it wise, is it prudent, to neglect the high 
interests of the soul and eternity? The Christian relig- 
ion is true! Sinner, it is time for you to think; and suf- 
fer me, just here, to ask, What are your hopes for great 
eternity ? 

III. "Come, see the place where the Lord lay," and 
contrast his humiliation and his glory. Draw near, and 
contemplate the blessed Jesus, whilst yet he slumbers in 
the tomb. Ah ! see that sacred form, wrapped in the 
winding-sheet! Death's leaden sceptre is upon it, and 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



not a solitary ray of divinity beams around it! See 
those blessed hands of his; the mark of the ru^g'ed nails 
is there. Those blessed feet! There, too, the a^ls have 
done their dismal work! Remove that linen, which 
covers his body — alas! the cruel spear went deep mto 
his side! Take away that napkin about his head — 
ah me ! I see it, my Saviour wore a thorny crown ! 
Look at that blessed countenance, once beaming with 
benevolence; now how changed in death! That blessed 
face, once so lovely; now so sadly marred! Alas! those 
blessed eyes of his are closed now ! That blessed tongue 
of his is still now ! That blessed bosom is cold now ! 
O my Redeemer ! He lies under the power of death, as 
one turned over to corruption and the worm! How 
deep is this humiliation! But wait, this humiliation is 
only for an appointed time. On the third day he is to 
rise again. And now the morning dawns; and lo ! the 
silence of the tomb is broken. The bands of death are 
bursting ! An angel descends from heaven. There is 
an earthquake. The stone is rolled away from the door 
of the sepulchre, and the blessed Jesus rises! "And did 
he rise? And did he rise? Hear it, O ye nations; hear 
it. O ye dead ! He rose He rose ! He burst the bars 
of death ! Then first humanity triumphant passed the 
crystal gates of life, and seized eternal joy!" Yes, he 
rose! he rose! He ascended up on high; he led cap- 
tivity captive; he received gifts for men; He entered 
the world above. Lift up your heads, O ye gates : even 
lift them up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory 
may come in. Lo, now, high in the heavens he is 



.THE TOMB OF JESUS. 



5" 



halted, far above all principality and power; angels 
gather around him, and all the heavenly host unite to 
wn him Lord of all! 

What a contrast, what an amazing contrast have we 
here ! Once in the sepulchre on e£*$gj now on his throne 
in the highest heavens ! Once wrapped in the winding- 
sheet; now arrayed in robes of light and glory! Once 
a prisoner of the grave, and guarded by Roman soldiers; 
now the Lord of glory, attended by the retinue of the 
heavenly world! Once under the power of death; now 
the Prince of life; death's conquerer! leading death and 
hell captive, chained to the wheels of his triumphant car. 
Wondrous Saviour!' Surely, one has well said, "To 
describe the full glories of the Redeemer, requires a new 
arrangement of letters, a celestial alphabet, composed of 
suns and constellations !" Communicants, as in your 
meditations you cluster around the cross and the tomb 
of Jesus, do not forget his glory and renown. As you 
muse upon the words of him who said, " I am the Good 
Shepherd, the Good Shepherd giveth up his life for his 
sheep," don't forget these words, which are also his, " I 
am he that liveth, and was dead : and behold, I am alive 
for evermore, amen; and have the keys of hell and of 
death!" Blessed Saviour! we will remember thy love! 
But again, 

IV. " Come, see the place where the Saviour lay," and 
mark the perfection of his sacrifice. When the Re- 
deemer came upon earth, it was upon a specific errand, 
it was to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Bow- 
ing his head upon the cross, he significantly exclaimed, 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



" It is finished !" And what, I ask, is his resurrection 
from the dead, but the unequivocal and authentic response 
of the Everlasting Father, " It is finished!" If the atone- 
ment was not complete, God the Father had never sent 
an angel to roll back the stone from the door of the 
sepulchre; nor had he ever sent a cloud, as a chariot, to 
take his Son home to heaven. The release of the pris- 
oner, then, is proof of the satisfaction of the debt; and 
his triumphant ascension the crowning evidence of the 
perfection of his sacrifice. Some persons inquire, Is the 
atonement limited, or is it general ? Did Christ die for 
all, or only for the elect? To this question I would 
reply, nearly in the words of Calvifi : I believe that the 
death of Christ is a perfect sacrifice; is of infinite value, 
and sufficient for the redemption of the whole world ; 
but is effectually applied only to those that believe. The 
sun in the heavens was made originally for the immediate 
and special benefit of our first parents. If there were 
never to be another individual of the human family upon 
earth, it was necessary that this luminary should be just 
what it is, to make a perfect day: no additional bright- 
ness is necessary to furnish all needful light for unnum- 
bered millions. Hence the language of the Saviour, 
S* God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life." Thank God, the atonement 
has been made. All legal obstructions have been taken 
out of the way; and now the command comes from the 
Saviour himself: "Go ye into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is 



THE TOMB OF JESUS. 



513 



baptized, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall 
be damned." Yes, all things are now ready. Come to 
the wedding : " The Spirit and the bride say, Come. Let 
him that heareth say, Come. Let him that is athirst 
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of 
life freely." 

" Salvation ! O salvation ! 

The joyful sound proclaim, 
Till earth's remotest nation 
Has learned Messiah's name." 

V. "Come, see the place where the Lord lay," and 
mark the stability of the divine purposes. Men frequent- 
ly form, and then change their purposes, or say their 
purposes remain the same. Many unforeseen events may 
prevent their accomplishment. Under currents and baf- 
fling winds may turn aside the mariner from his destined 
port. Floods and droughts may defeat the purposes of 
the planter. Famine or pestilence, fire, or the fury of the 
tempest, may defeat the schemes of the mightiest con- 
querors. But, believe me, my brethren, no under cur- 
rents nor baffling winds, nor flood, nor drought, nor 
famine, nor pestilence, nor anything else can change the 
plans, or defeat the purposes of Him, who has "prepared 
his throne in the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth 
over all." Observe, it was the purpose of God the Father 
that Jesus Christ, the Son of his love, should rise from 
the dead on the third day. ■ Various efforts were made to 
defeat this event. When the stone was rolled to the door 
of the sepulchre, the stone was sealed, and a watch was 
set, expressly to prevent his rising from the dead. But, 



3*4 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



O foolish ones! what is the rolling of a stone to the door 
of the sepulchre, or the setting of a watch, to Him who 
has all power in heaven and on earth; who need only 
speak, and worlds on worlds would roll from his creative 
hand; who need only will it, and all would again sink in 
fiery ruins! Yes, my brethren, as nothing stops the 
ocean's tide, or turns aside the bright orb of day; so noth- 
ing can stop or turn aside the purposes of Him, who 
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Has 
he said it, and shall he not do it? Has he commanded, 
and shall it not stand fast ? For ever, O Lord, thy word 
is settled in heaven ! 

Here, again, let us for a moment pause, and think. 
Are the purposes of God firm and stable? Then let the 
impenitent sinner tremble, for according to the Scriptures 
it is the immutable purpose of an immutable God, that all 
who die impenitent shall perish ; that all who go down to 
the grave without a Saviour, shall be lost to all eternity ! 
Go, sinner, and stem the ocean's tide; go and roll back 
the chariot of the sun; and when you have done that, 
there is one thing you cannot do — you cannot, dying in 
sin, you cannot escape the damnation of hell ! Dear fel- 
low sinner, let me entreat you not to make light of this ; 
for the word of the Saviour, touching this matter, has 
gone forth; and surely you have not forgotten his solemn 
declaration — Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my 
words shall not pass away ! 

Are the purposes of God firm and stable? then may 
the penitent sinner be encouraged ; and all who will come 
to Christ may have peace and joy in believing ; for, accord- 



THE TOMB OF JESUS. 



515 



ing to the Scriptures, it is the immutable purpose of an 
immutable God, that every one who truly repents shall be 
forgiven ; and every one who comes to Christ, in the exer- 
cise of a true and living faith, shall be accepted — shall be 
saved. 

VI. " Come, see the place where the Lord lay/' and 
contemplate the security of the Church, and the certainty 
of her ultimate triumph. The Church is now in the midst 
of enemies, like Daniel in the lion's den, or like a lamb 
surrounded by ravening wolves; but Zion enjoys her 
Monarch's love, and glorious things are spoken of the 
city of our God. According to the Scriptures, God is in 
the midst of her ; God will help her, and that right early. 
When the Master was laid in the Sepulchre, his disciples, 
cast down and disquieted, were as sheep which had no 
shepherd. Everything seemed dark and discouraging. 
No doubt they were tempted to fear that the cause of 
Christ was ruined for ever. O, it was indeed a gloomy 
and a dark day ! but, when the blessed Saviour burst the 
bars of death, and rose triumphant from the tomb, all 
was changed! Hope sprang up afresh, and, so to speak, 
methinks they heard a voice of sweet encouragement, 
saying, Fear not, little flock, it is your Fathers good 
pleasure to give you the kingdom. Yes, here is encour- 
agement. He who can burst the bars of death, can build 
up the broken down walls of Zion; and he who can 
ascend up to heaven, in a cloud, can surely raise his 
Church to glory and renown. As no power on earth can 
quench the lights of heaven, or stay the chariot of the 
rising sun, even so, no power on earth can quench the 



Si6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



light of the gospel, or hold in check the hastening tri 
umphs of the Prince of Peace! The Lord is risen, is ris* 
en indeed! He has triumphed over all his enemies. He 
has all power in heaven and on earth; and when he sees 
proper to say to his Church, " Arise and shine," then 
shall the Church put on her beautiful garments, and look 
forth as the morning — fair as the morn, clear as the sun, 
and terrible to her enemies as an army with banners 
Once more: 

VII. " Come, see the place where the Lord lay," and 
think of the bright prospects of the believer, and his hopes 
beyond the tomb. As Jesus died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him, 
when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and 
admired in all them that believe. Very sad and dismal is 
the change, to mortal eye, which passes upon the body of 
the believer in the hour of death. The eyes cease to 
sparkle; the bloom upon the cheek is gone; the features 
are haggard; the ears are heavy; the tongue is dumb; 
the heart is cold; the frame is motionless! That counte- 
nance, upon which we were wont to gaze, perhaps, with 
admiration and delight, is now so changed we can scarcely 
recognize it; and that form, once so lovely, is now wrapped 
in the winding-sheet, and fit only for the grave, and for 
the worm ! How sad is this change ! How deep is this 
humiliation! But wait, another change is to come: that 
body is to rise again; those eyes are to sparkle again; an 
immortal bloom is to be upon that cheek ; those features 
are to have a divine beauty; and that countenance is to 
be lovely as an angel's! Yes, the poet says: 



THE TOMB OF JESUS. 



" Arrayed in glorious grace, 

Shall these vile bodies shine, 
And every shape, and every face 

Look heavenly and divine." 

" We would not have you be ignorant, brethren, con- 
cerning them which sleep," says the apostle, "that ye 
sorrow not as others which have no hope; for, as Jesus 
died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in 
Jesus will God bring with him; for the Lord himself 
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice 
of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in 
Christ shall rise first." They shall rise in beauty and 
splendor. They shall leave their dusty beds, and appear 
as angels coming out of the ground ! Yea, they shall 
rise in the likeness of the Son of God. For thus teaches 
the apostle: "Our conversation is in heaven, from whence 
also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like 
unto his glorious body, according to the working where- 
by he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." 
O how wonderful is this! and how cheering to those who 
have looked, in sadness and grief, upon the pale, cold, 
and motionless form of some beloved one, who has fallen 
asleep in Jesus. Has this dear friend fallen under the 
power of death? And was not even the great Redeemer 
himself once under the power of death? Did you see 
the loved form of your friend wrapped in the winding- 
sheet, and laid in the grave? And was not the body of 
your Lord also thus arrayed, and laid in a tomb ? Ah ! 
my brethren, this has sanctified death, and the winding- 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



sheet, and the grave. If Jesus died, why should we not 
be willing to die? And if he was laid in the tomb, why 
should we not be willing to have the same bed of repose? 

• <£ The graves of all his saints he blessed, 

And softened every bed, 
Where should the dying members rest 
But with their dying Head ?" 

I must say, my dear brethren, that this association of 
the tomb of Jesus, is to me one of a peculiarly sacred 
and pleasing character. It does much to strip death of 
its sting, and the grave of its terror. Shall the servant 
be greater than his Master? Shall not the disciple, in 
this particular, be willing to be as his Lord? and, espe- 
cially, as he is to share with his Master in the triumphs 
of a glorious resurrection. It is enough! Amen. So 
let it be !— 

" I would not live alway : no, welcome the tomb, 
Since Jesus hath lain there, I dread not its gloom; 
Then, sweet be my rest, till he bid me arise 
To hail him in triumph, descending the skies L" 



Blessed be God ! the Lord is risen — is risen indeed I 
Come, see the place where the Lord lay ! 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



519 



SERMON X. 

CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 

Finally, breihren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, 
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever thing3 are 
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if 
there be any praise, think on these things,— Phillippians iv. 8. 

True religion, unquestionably, elevates and improves the 
human character; gives it a mingled sweetness and dig- 
nity, a perfection and excellence, which nothing else 
possibly can. Great talent and heroic achievements may 
add splendor to a name, may secure the admiration of a 
world. But after all, "'Tis moral grandeur which makes 
the man." And what is moral grandeur? What gives 
it beauty, and charm, and body, and soul, but true reli- 
gion? This is the sum and perfection of whatsoever 
things are true, and honest, and just, and pure, and 
lovely, and of good report. Look at your blessed Re- 
deemer: no laurels of the conqueror encircled his brow; 
no triumphal arches commemorated his victories; and 
yet, even as a man, Jesus stands first on the rolls of fame! 
And wherefore ? Not merely because he spake as 
never man spake ; not merely because he wrought stu- 
pendous miracles — No, nor even because of this and that 
distinguished trait of moral character, but it was because 
of the assemblage of all virtues; because of the clustering 
of all graces; it was because of the finished beauty of his 
whole character; for in him, as one well observes, was 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



"all light, without a shade; all beauty, without a spot." 
Now, such as our Saviour was, in all his inimitable per- 
fections, should we be. The standard is high — I know it — 
it is exceeding high, but it is good for us to have a high 
standard, that we may be thoroughly sensible of our own 
short-comings, and convinced that we do need a better 1 
righteousness than our own, and must have it, or where 
God is, we cannot come — where heaven is, we cannot 
dwell. And now, I wish to lay before you, for your 
serious consideration, the points of Christian morality 
presented in our text. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever 
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever 
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; 
if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on 
these things." 

I. " Whatsoever things are true." — Truth is a cardinal 
virtue, and like the name of the ever-blessed God, it is 
most sacred, and must, in no form or fashion, be trifled 
with. Truth has reference to two things — veracity and 
faithfulness. By veracity, I mean the speaking as we 
think, and feel, and desire; and by faithfulness, the 
squaring of our words by our actions. Veracity is neces- 
sary to social intercourse. If it be trampled upon, dis- 
trust and suspicion would invade every bosom; the 
whole frame and texture of the social system would be 
deranged, would be dissolved. Veracity is essential to a 
good character; no matter what a man's reputation or 
standing in other respects may be, if he be not a man of 
strict and undeviating veracity, there is a foul stain upon 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



521 



that man's character, which, like the blood of the mur- 
dered man upon the floor, (as it is fabled,) nothing can 
wash out. Moreover, veracity is requisite in order to our 
admittance into the world above. " Nothing," says Paul, 
"that worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, shall ever 
enter there." Now, let all seriously think upon these 
things, who practice deceptions of any kind; those, for 
example, who indulge in flattery, as well as those who 
deal in slander. Those who make hollow-hearted pro- 
fessions of friendship, as well as those who bear false 
witness against their neighbor; those also who color 
narratives and exaggerate matters of fact, as well as 
those who tell wilful and downright falsehoods ; in short, 
let all seriously think upon these things who, whether 
for amusement trifle with truth, or for baser purposes, 
they trample it under their feet! And here I will, just in 
a passing way, advert to a practice which prevails in 
some of our Atlantic cities, but whether in this region or 
country, I know not — the practice of masters and mis- 
tresses directing their servants to say that they are not at 
home, when at home they are! Whatsoever things are 
true, says our text; think on these things. 

And now, let us see if we may not find a spot, and a 
very dark spot, too, where nothing of the kind was 
anticipated; I mean, upon the escutcheon of the moral 
man, so called. What are we to understand by veracity ? 
The speaking as we think, and feel, and desire. Well, 
this moral man, so called, makes confession of sins com- 
mitted, and there is no contrition in his soul. He makes 
acknowledgment for mercies received, and there is no 



522 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



gratitude in his heart. He prays, like Augustine of old, 
to be delivered from certain besetting sins, and, like the 
same Augustine, he is afraid that God will take him at 
his word, for he really does not wish to be delivered from 
those sins. Now, this man is wanting in the very matter 
of veracity, and yet he esteems himself a very moral 
man. But, let us see if we may not find another spot on 
the moral character of the same man. Take this case: 
He is in the sanctuary. The minister reasons well con- 
cerning "righteousness, temperance, and judgment to 
come ;" he brings the high claims of God and eternity to 
bear strongly upon the understanding, and the conscience, 
and the hearts of his hearers j this man's attention is 
arrested; his conscience is troubled; pungent conviction 
seizes upon him; he feels that he is a sinner; he feels 
that he is exposed to wrath divine; he trembles, like 
Felix, and, like Agrippa, he is almost persuaded to be a 
Christian. Now, mark! Just in this frame of mind — 
really anxious in relation to his eternal interests — the 
services close, and as he retires, he meets with some gay 
associate, and fearing lest that asssciate might think the 
sermon had made an impression on his mind, he assumes 
an air of indifference, makes some witty remark, and 
forces a smile! O the hypocrite! My brethren, believe 
me, there are hypocrites out of the Church, as well as in 
the Church ; and many of these moral men, so called, 
are not so very moral after all. 

But truth, as we have said, has reference not only to 
veracity, but to faithfulness — the squaring of our words 
by our actions. And here, it must be confessed that 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



523 



there are persons in this world of whom we might have 
expected better things, who are strangely, marvellously 
wanting in just this thing. They make promises, they 
enter into engagements — and break their word ! At such 
a time, this bill shall be paid ; at such a time, this work 
shall be done; at such a time, this business shall certainly 
be attended to : — confidence is reposed, and, to the seri- 
ous annoyance of another, they break their word, they 
violate their engagements ; and this they will do, over 
and over again ; and yet such have the effrontery to call 
themselves moral men! O shame, where is thy blush? 
If you should know of a professor of religion guilty in 
this matter, I have one request to make: "Tell it not in 
Gath; tell it not in the streets of Askelon, lest the daugh- 
ters of the uncircumcised rejoice ; lest the daughters of 
the Philistines triumph!" O tell it not to the man that 
"mouths the heavens," nor to him who "reels o'er the 
full bowl;" and especially, tell it not to the mere moralist, 
lest sinners, through all their tribes and gradations, should 
scornfully curl the lip, and, pointing to every member of 
the Church, should sneeringly say: — "And what do ye 
more than others?" I am aware that sometimes promises 
are made, and unforeseen events place it out of the power 
of the person giving the promise to keep it. In such 
cases, all candid and reasonable persons are ready to 
make all due allowance; but there are cases where a 
promise is made, and that is the last of it! This is a sore 
evil under the sun ; and if it be a professor of religion who 
is guilty in this matter, be it known that he brings a 
reproach upon the religion of Christ; he does much to 



524 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



block up the pathway to heaven against those around. 
Let every man, and especially every professor of religion, 
bear distinctly in mind, that his word is his bond, and 
that truth, as we have said, like the name of the ever- 
blessed God, is most sacred, and must in no form or fash- 
ion be trifled with. But, let us again examine, and see 
if we may not find yet another spot upon the escutcheon 
of the moral man, so called. If we are to believe him, he 
never breaks his word. He would scorn to do such a 
thing! Now, let us draw aside the curtain, and tell you a 
little of the secret history of that man. He was laid upon 
a bed of sickness on a certain occasion. A physician was 
sent for in haste. The physician came, felt his pulse, 
looked very gravely, and prescribed strong remedies. The 
patient was alarmed, thought himself in great danger; 
and knowing well that he was not prepared to meet his 
Maker, he begged a friend to pray for him. He did more 
than this; he made a promise — he made a solemn vow to 
his Maker, that if his life was spared he would devote his 
remaining days to the service of God. Well, his life was 
spared. Within a few weeks he was restored to good 
health again. Shall I tell you what that man did? He 
violated his promise; he broke his vow; he lied! — not 
unto men, but unto God ! When the speaker said that 
such a man lied, you thought him rather harsh and rough 
in his language ; but, when he added, " Not unto men, 
but unto God," he softened the phrase. And is it come 
to this? To lie to a fellow-creature is a serious affair; 
but to lie unto God is a small matter! O, when will men 
view things in their true light! and when will the moral 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



525 



man, so called, understand, that when weighed in the bal- 
ances of the sanctury, he is found wanting! 

II. " Whatsoever things are honest" — senina, in the 
original; which means, that which is worthy of respect 
and veneration. The Christian religion, presenting an 
upright course of moral conduct, based upon sound and 
evangelical principles, commends itself to every man's 
judgment, whether he be righteous or wicked. For ex- 
ample, let a man of sterling worth, of consistent Christian 
character, be unexpectedly thrown into the company of 
the intemperate or profane, and much mistaken am I, if 
we do not immediately see the commanding influence of 
that man's dignity of character: 

" So spake the cherub :— — 

— Abashed the devil stood, 

And felt how awful goodness is — felt, 
And pined his loss." 

" Let no man despise thee," said Paul to Titus ; that is, 
so live, that no man can despise thee. Maintain the dig- 
nity and consistency of the Christian character in all 
companies, in all circumstances. Be always ready to say, 
by word and deed, " I am a Christian," and, "I am not 
ashamed to own my Lord." Christian dignity! that will 
ever command respect. But think not that dignity and 
pride are the same thing. They are widely different. 
Our Saviour maintained the dignity of a Master at the 
very time that he washed his disciples' feet. " Whatso- 
ever things are honest" — semna, — worthy of respect and 
veneration, "think on these things." 

III. "Whatsoever things are just."— Here the apostle 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



brings to view, and recommends another cardinal virtue 
— justice; and by justice I mean a disposition to respect 
all rights, a disposition to meet all claims which are well 
founded. It is a very comprehensive principle, and will 
serve to regulate our conduct, not only in commercial 
and pecuniary matters, but also in matters of every kind. 
If, for example, I have a just claim to a person's gratitude, 
or respect, or service, my claim is just as binding upon 
him, as if it had reference to his person or to his estate. 
And now, see how very defective some persons are who 
have a very good opinion of themselves. This proud 
man will not cheat the poor, but he Will trample them 
under foot. It is to render to all their dues. This is 
what Peter says. Render to all their dues: tribute to 
whom tribute, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor — 
and this falls in with the language of our blessed Saviour: 
Whatsoever ye would that others do unto you, do ye the 
same unto them likewise. This golden precept or rule 
was so much admired by the Emperor Alexander Sev- 
erus, that he inscribed it upon his closet, quoted it in his 
judgments, and for the sake of it, honored Christ and 
favored his followers; and if so much admired by a 
pagan Roman emperor, how much more ought it to be 
admired and practised by those who have formally sub- 
scribed to the heavenly and sublime morality of the Son 
of God; and yet, how is the principle, as we have already 
intimated, treated with perfect disregard! This reckless 
slanderer will not rob his neighbor of his purse, but he 
will rob him of his character. This vile ingrate will 
repay money borrowed, but he will withhold gratitude 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



527 



that is due. This outrageous husband will grant pecuni- 
ary support to his wife, but by his harshness, his unkind- 
ness, his neglect, he will break her heart. Is this accord- 
ing to the golden rule? or is this "to render to all their 
dues?" And now, what if I prove that no unconverted 
sinner is a just or morally honest man? I did not affirm 
it — I only said, what if I proved it. I will state a case ; 
judge ye, you have an understanding as well as the 
speaker. Here is an individual. A and B, we will sup- 
pose, have claims against him, equally well founded. A 
has a claim for one hundred dollars, B for one thousand. 
The individual referred to likes Mr. A, but does not like 
Mr. B. Well, Mr. A presents his claim. "O, certainly, 
sir," says the individual, and taking out his pocket-book, 
he settles the claim to the smallest fraction. Very well, 
good as far as it goes. But when A retires, here comes 
Mr. B and presents his claim, and we will suppose that 
the said individual has no disposition to meet the claims 
of B, but is disposed to put him off as long as possible. 
Is this debtor a just or morally honest man? I think 
not; for what is justice or moral honesty? Is it not a 
disposition to respect all rights — a disposition to meet 
all claims well founded ? But, according to the supposi- 
tion made, the individual spoken of has a disposition to 
meet the claims of A, but no disposition to meet the 
claims of B; certainly he is not a just, or morally honest 
man ! Now, let A represent man, and B the ever-blessed 
God. The moral man, so called, is willing to meet and 
settle the claims of his fellow-creatures. But when the 
claims of God are presented, these claims are not re* 



528 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



specked; the unrenewed sinner has no disposition t© 
meet them, but is disposed to put them off as long as 
possible, saying, "Go thy way for this time; when I have 
a convenient season, I will call for thee." Is this a just 
or morally honest man ? And now see the moral man, 
so called, like the eagle, soaring aloft, and smitten in 
mid heavens, he comes lumbering down to the ground, 
all his pride and plumage laid low in the dust! I tell 
you the truth, my brethren, I lie not; these mere moral- 
ists are "weighed in the balance and found wanting!" 
Only let them go into the eternal world with no better 
righteousness than that, and, mark my word, where God 
is they cannot come; where heaven is they can never 
dwell. Yes, these moral men must perish! Mistake me 
not. I am not crying down morality. Heaven forbid! But 
if by scriptural and common sense argument I can show 
that the most amiable, and the very best of the uncon- 
verted are weighed and found wanting, how certain is the 
perdition of those who do not even come up to their 
mark! How important it is to have a better righteous- 
ness than Our own ; for, "by the deeds of the law shall no 
flesh living be justified." 

IV. "Whatsoever things are pure." — The Christian re- 
ligion would not only regulate our outward conduct, but 
would lay its hand upon the springs of action, and would 
control the whole moral man. It would have us to be 
pure in our motives, pure in our principles, pure in all 
our thoughts and imaginations, pure in our hearts — as it 
is written, " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall 
see God." Now, if there be a single individual present 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



529 



who bases his hopes of heaven upon the excellence of his 
moral character, I would ask him a question or two. Are 
you pure within ? No evil thoughts? no evil feelings? 
no evil desires? Ah! believe me, the heart of the best 
man on earth is defiled with sin: yea, according to the 
•prophet, is "deceitful above all things and desperately 
wicked." Hence the strong language of Isaiah: "All 
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." What an idea 
this is! and how effectually does it destroy the hopes of 
the unregenerate man! I suppose a more virtuous man 
never lived than the prophet Isaiah; and yet he hesitated 
not to say, that all his personal righteousness was only as 
"filthy rags." Now, in connection with this, take this 
idea : — Heaven is a place of unsullied purity. The angels 
are robed in spotless white. The spirits of the just are 
also robed in white. They have not, it is true, the white 
robes of innocence, such as angels wear, but robes equally 
beautiful and white — robes "washed and made white in 
the blood of the Lamb." Now, only think, this man 
attempts to enter the gates of heaven having no better 
righteousness than his own — that is, he attempts to enter, 
clothed in rags, in filthy rags! Will he be permitted to 
enter? I suspect not! Ah! my hearers, believe me, we 
must have a better righteousness than our own; and verily, 
without the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of 
the Holy Ghost, we can never, never enter into the heav- 
enly world; for thus saith the glorious Son of God. "Ye 
must be born again." Yes, 



530 



REVIVAL SERMONS, 



w Our nature's totally depraved, 

The heart a sink of sin, 
Without a change, we can't be saved, 

We must be born again." 

Immortal man! Think upon these thing's, make no mis- 
take. If a man dies, can he live again? Once lost, lost 
forever ! 

V. "Whatsoever things are lovely." There are certain 
things which give a beauty and a charm, a finish to the 
character, and these things we are to think upon and show 
forth in our whole lives and conversation. Among these 
things which are " lovely," I would mention a sweet and 
even temper, mild and unassuming manners, a courteous 
and polite behaviour, kind feeling, a generous heart, a 
sympathizing spirit — that which leads its possessor not 
only to rejoice with those that rejoice, but to weep with 
those that weep. And here let me lay before you some 
of these "lovely things," in all the charms of a tangible 
exemplification. I have seen the young man of brilliant 
talents, rising up and showing respect to the man of sil- 
very locks— youth bending before age. This was lovely. 
I have seen the maiden, of many charms, in the Sabbath- 
school room, with her interesting charge around her, 
whilst she was engaged in a work which the angels of 
God themselves might delight in. This was lovely. I 
have seen husbands who loved their wives and were not 
bitter against them ; and, I have seen wives who were 
careful to render to their husbands the obedience of love; 
this, too, was lovely. I have seen parents who watched 
over their children with Christian anxiety, guarding their 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



531 



morals with all care, anxious to promote their spiritual as 
well as temporal prosperity. Yea, I have seen them anxious 
to "allure to brighter worlds, and lead theway:"and I have 
seen children — both sons and daughters, very affectionate 
and respectful to their aged parents — consulting their 
wishes, anticipating their wants, endeavoring to strew 
their pathway with flowers, and cheer them in the even- 
ing of their days. This was lovely. I have seen broth- 
ers and sisters remarkably kind and affectionate to each 
other. They had no jarrings, indulged in no petty con- 
tradictions. They really loved each other, and desired to 
make each other happy. It was a lovely sight ; like the 
family of Martha and Mary, and Lazarus, each of whom 
Jesus loved ; yes, it was a lovely sight — a little type of 
heave* ! I have seen masters who were careful to give 
unto their servants that which was just and equal, know- 
ing that they had also a Master in heaven; and I have 
seen servants very conscientious in obeying their masters 
as required to do in the sacred volume. I have seen the 
faithful pastor, in the midst of the people of his charge, as 
a father in the midst of his family, every member of which 
was dear to his heart : and I have seen a whole congrega- 
tion, who were always respectful and kind to their pastor; 
received him into their dwelling with a smile; heeded his 
counsels and instructions, and neglected not his temporal 
wants. I have dwelt the longer on such things, for two 
reasons: first, because such matters are too rarely advert- 
ed to in the pulpit ; and secondly, because some profes- 
sors of religion are not as consistent and lowly as they 
should be. Of Naaman, it was said, "Now Naaman, cap- 



532 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

tain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with 
his master, and honorable, because that by him the Lord 
had granted deliverance unto Syria ; moreover, he was a 
mighty man in valor, but he was a leper." So it is with 
many around us; they have some fine traits of character, 
*have many excellencies, but alas! poor human nature, 
they have some sad imperfections. I saw a talented min- 
ister of the gospel once : — he was zealous and active, and 
he was instrumental in doing much good, but I thought 
he was rather domineering and dictatorial. Alas! poor 
human natnre! I saw another, he was not domineering 
or dictatorial. No ! he was a gentle spirit; he had much 
of the milk of human kindness, but I thought he was not 
zealous as a minister; he was not earnest as a preacher; 
he was rather cold I thought, rather inclined to snowing 
upon the people. His words were very beautiful, but it 
seemed to me they were more like flakes of snow falling 
from his lips, than nails and goads, as they should have 
been. I saw another minister of the gospel; he was a 
young man, really eloquent and interesting, as a preacher, 
but I thought he was rather too fond of being nursed ; 
moreover, some persons thought he was somewhat spiced 
with vanity. I saw an elder of the church; he was a 
prominent man, a man of some standing and influence; 
but I thought he was rather covetous and worldly-mind- 
ed. His subscriptions to religious and benevolent objects 
were not up to his means. I saw another; he was not 
covetous — no ; he was a generous hearted man, he had a 
}arge soul, and seemed never to forget the words of the 
Master, "It is more blessed to give than to receive;" 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



533 



but I thought he was hasty in his temper. Perhaps his 
mother had never taught him that "he that is slow to 
anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his 
spirit, than he that taketh a city." I saw another mem- 
ber of the church; he was not hasty in his temper, he 
was not easily ruffled in his temper, but he was sadly 
inefficient; he did nothing to cause his influence to be 
felt ; he was quite an amiable man, but in the church h<* 
was much of a cipher, and a drone. I saw a mother in 
Israel; she was an active member of the church, and was 
something of a Dorcas, moreover, her house was the min- 
isters' hotel, she was very hospitable, but at times she 
was rather fretful and censorious, and would occasionally 
speak rather too freely about her neighbors. And I saw 
yet another female member of the church; she was lively 
and pleasant; had some fine traits of character, but she 
was rather fond of finery and parade; perhaps she had 
overlooked what the apostle James said about good works 
being a better adornment for a daughter of Zion than 
gold, or pearls, or costly array* 

My pictures are not entirely fanciful ; they are drawn 
from real life. Alas, poor human nature! Some persons 
have many things to recommend them; but there are 
some sad drawbacks. Indeed, there are some, who, 
although members of the Church, are by no means con- 
sistent members — and some are even positively unamia- 
fole, They think upon whatsoever things are true, and 
honest, and just, and pure, but they seem to forget that 
the apostle adds, "whatsoever thing are lovely." They 
are not lovely in their temper and spirit, they are not 



534 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



lovely in their manners ; some are morose, and peevish, 
and fretful. Some are too uncharitable, and some too 
easily offended; and some again, are too penurious. 
They are selfish,, and seem to live for themselves alone. 
They do not " adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour." 
They rather bring a reproach upon the religion which 
they profess, They cause " the way of truth to be evil 
spoken of," and confirm sinners in their wicked ways. I 
recollect a gentleman once made this remark to me, 
" Sir, my wife is a member of the Church ; as for myself, 
I made no pretensions to religion; and yet, to tell you the 
truth, I must say I think my wife is just as peevish, and 
fretful, and worldly-minded as I am !" Daughter of 
Zion ! beware how you give your husband any just cause 
to make a remark of this kind. Remember you are to 
win him to Christ by a " chaste conversation, coupled 
with fear." "Whatsoever things are lovely — think on 
these things." O, that all who have named the name of 
Christ would aim at being consistent Christians, and then 
would the most scornful see that true religion does in- 
deed come to make better husbands and better wives, 
better parents and better children, better masters and bet- 
ter servants ! What a powerful argument would this be 
for the truth of the Christian religion ! 

" So let our lips and lives express, 

The holy gospel we profess; 
So let our works and virtues shine 

To prove the doctrine all divine." 

One item more : 

VI. " Whatsoever things are of good report." — There 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



535 



are certain things of which all persons approve, whether 
rich or poor, learned or unlearned, righteous or wicked. 
Permit me to mention some of these things, and cordially 
recommend them to your serious regard. First: Uni- 
formity is of good report. The changeling in sentiment 
or conduct, nobody respects; for it seems that he wants 
judgment to form an opinion, or, forming an opinion, he 
wants firmness to maintain it. He that is our friend to- 
day, and our enemy to-morrow; one thing at this time 
and quite another at another time — who can respect such 
a one? No! we all like the man, who, amid all the 
scenes of life, "holds on the even tenor of his way," pre- 
senting an humble imitation of Him, of whom it is said, 
"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." 
My brethren, be uniform. Be not carried about by divers 
winds of doctrines. Be not of the number of those who 
are fickle-minded, and given to change. Be consistent 
and firm. Another thing of good report is Catholicism. 
I use this word for want of a better. By Catholicism, I 
mean the opposite of a narrow, contracted, bigoted, sec- 
tarian spirit; a spirit which, whilst it would lead its pos- 
sessor most earnestly to "contend for the faith once 
delivered to the saints," would by no means lead him to 
e nfine all the sweet charities of his religion to one sect 
or denomination. Some persons can see nothing good 
except in their own particular church. In this matter 
their views are very limited — like the "fly, whose feeble 
ray scarce spreads an inch around !" If their church is 
prospering, they think that the millenium is just at hand! 
if their church is declining, they think, surely, all religion 



536 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



is dying! This spirit is unworthy of an enlightened 
Christian. No! we like the man who has elevated and 
expanded views, who looks upon the Church of Christ as 
a fruit-bearing tree, that has many branches, each bearing 
at least some good fruit; or, like the grand army of patri* 
ots and volunteers in time of war— one army, and yet 
composed of different companies, and fighting under one 
and the same banner. If I ever were a bitter sectarian in 
my feelings, I have been cured, and the process was a 
simple one. I heard of a death : " How did the man die ?" 
" O," says the messenger, " I never witnessed such a 
death before ! It really seemed as though the room was 
filled with the angels of God !" " Did he die in his senses?" 
" Perfectly in his senses." "Did he speak?" " Yes, sir, 
and until his voice was lost in death!" "About what 
did he speak?" "About the blessed Jesus, sir. I heard 
him frequently say, 1 Precious Saviour ! precious Saviour!' 
and, just as he was breathing his last, he looked up, and, 
with a countenance radiant with joy, he exclaimed, 'Come, 
Lord Jesus, come quickly!' Saying this, he closed his 
eyes, and his spirit took its upward flight." "Well, truly, 
that was a happy death ! And who was he ?" " He was 
a Presbyterian." Very well, and shall I not love those of 
my own communion, seeing God loves them? But I 
heard of another death. " How did he die?" "O, sir, it 
was truly a happy death." " Did he speak ?" " Yes, sir, 
and brought us all to tears." "And what did he say?" 
"O, sir, he said a great many beautiful things; but his 
last words were these, 



CHRISTIAN MORALITY. 



537 



* Jesus can make a dying bed 
Feel soft as downy pillows are.' " 

" Well, that certainly was a happy death. And he was 
a Presbyterian — was he not ?" " No, sir." " Not a Pres- 
byterian ! What, then ?" " He was a Baptist." " A 
Baptist / Is it possible ! Very well : be it so. If my 
Heavenly Father showers the roses of heaven upon the 
bed of the dying Baptist, and takes him as a child home 
to glory, this is my brother in Christ: I hope to meet him 
in heaven !" I heard of yet another death ! " Was it 
happy ?" " Most happy." " Did he speak ?" " Yes, sir, 
There were a great many in the room around his dying 
bed ; — and he took each one by the hand, and gave the 
parting charge to meet him in heaven. All at once a 
sweet smile came over his countenance. He looked up, 
and seemed to be gazing with rapture upon some 
heavenly object, and exclaimed, 1 Glory ! glory 1' — and 
then we heard him in a whisper say, 4 Come, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly !' Saying this, his head sank upon the 
pillow ; and we all remarked that we never saw a more 
lovely corpse." * Certainly that was a happy death ! 
Was he not a Presbyterian ?" "No." "Then surely he 
must have been a Baptist?" "No he was not!" " What 
then ?" " He was a MethodisC "A Methodist ! Very 
well. If God accepts him, so will I. If my Heavenly 
Father sends down Elijah's triumphant chariot to take 
this dying Methodist to heaven, he, also, is my brother ; 
we are bought with the same precious blood; we are 
sanctified by the same Divine Spirit ; we are members 
of the same household of faith ; I hope to shake hands 



538 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



with him in glory, and there unite with him in one sweet 
and everlasting song — 1 the song of Moses and the 
Lamb V * Grace be with them all that love our Lord 
Jesus Christ in sincerity.' " 

« The saints on earth, and all the dead, 
But one communion make ; 
All join in Christ, their living Head, 
And of his grace partake." 

* Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, what- 
soever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, 
whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any 
virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 
Amen." 



SERMON XL 

A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him 
•with <♦ perfect heart and with a willing mind ; for the Ijord seareheth all 
hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts; if thou seek 
him, he will be found of thee^ hut if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off 
forever.— 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. 

These words form a part of David's farewell address, or 
dying charge to Solomon, his son, and heir of his throne. 
Notwithstanding his many and acknowledged faults, 
David was, upon the whole, both a great and a good 
man. He was a great man, for he had risen from 
obscurity to distinction ; from being a shepherd boy to be 



* A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 539 

a king, and a powerful one. But he was also a good 
man. Not to mention other things, the book of Psalms, 
chiefly penned by him, is a memorial to his praise; a 
monument more beautitul than marble, more enduring 
than brass. And what, my young friends, I wish you not 
to forget, is this, that he devoted the morning of his days, 
as well as all his subsequent life, to the service of his 
Maker. Yes, piety adorned his youth; it flourished in 
manhood ; and was to him a crown of glory in his old 
age. And now, having reigned over Jerusalem forty 
years, and knowing that the time of his departure was 
near at hand, like Jacob, the venerable patriarch, and 
Moses, the saint of God, and Joshua, the son of Nun, he 
devotes the last closing scene of his life to the cause of 
piety and of God : and in his case emphatically, most 
lovely was the closing scene ; lovelier far than the sunset 
scene at the close of the most placid day. See the mild, 
bright sun, sinking in the west, painting with rosy colors 
the fleecy clouds which, here and there, are seen reposing 
upon the bosom of the clear blue sky. It is a beauteous, 
a lovely sight, and one upon which the eye loves to lin- 
ger ; but the last, closing scene in the history of a good 
man, when his sun of life is sinking in mild splendor to 
rise in more effulgent glory in another and a better world, 
has a beauty and loveliness peculiarly its own. One has 
said, 

" The chamber where the good man meets his fate, 

Is privileged, beyond the common walks of virtuous life, 

Quite on the verge of heaven I" 

Poes he speak ? Every eye is fixed ; every ear is 



540 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



attentive; all around are anxious to catch the last words 
which fall from his quivering lips ; they are received as 
the counsels of wisdom and experience — almost as the 
voice of an oracle, or angel of God. But the case before 
us is invested with peculiar jnterest, for it is not only a 
good man that is about to leave the world, but it is a 
great man, a mighty man, a warrior, a conqueror, and a 
king. This is he, who, even when a youth, was more 
lauded than Saul, what time returning as the vanquisher 
of Goliath, he was met by those who, with the timbrel 
and the dance, uttered his praises, saying, " Saul has slain 
his thousands, and David his tens of thousands !" Yes, 
it is the far renowned David, the king of Israel, that is 
about to sink into the cold embrace of death. After the 
example of other Old Testament worthies who had gone 
before him, he gives his farewell address, he gives his 
dying charge. Picture to yourself the scene ; the chief 
men of Jerusalem, and the mighty men, and the princes 
of the blood are assembled in the palace of the dying 
monarch. There, on his royal couch, is the venerable 
man, with his cheeks furrowed, and his locks silvery with 
age! and there stands that young man, Solomon, the 
heir of David's throne. What silence reigns ! And now 
the king speaks; first he addresses the nobles of his 
court, giving them political counsel; and then he turns 
his eyes upon Solomon, and upon him, now, every eye is 
fixed. Solomon, with profound veneration waited to hear 
his father's charge. It falls upon his ear: "And thou, 
Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and 
serve hfm with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind, 



i 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



541 



for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all 
the imaginations of the thoughts; if thou seek him, he 
will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him, he will 
cast thee off forever!" How unexpected is this language! 
How widely different from what the nobles around, and 
no doubt, from what Solomon himself anticipated. Cer- 
tainly he will make a charge such as might be looked for 
from the mouth of a dying warrior and a king. No doubt 
he will speak after this fashion : — Solomon, your father 
rose' from obscurity to distinction — from being a shepherd 
boy to be a king. Your father has fought many battles, 
achieved many victories; Solomon, you are to succeed 
your father upon the throne; cherish a martial spirit, push 
forward your victories, enlarge your dominions, twine 
laurels around your brow, and thus add new splendors to 
David's throne. No! not a word of this kind is uttered. 
What does he say ? Let us hear it again: "And thou, 
Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and 
serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind, 
for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all 
the imaginations of the thoughts; if thou seek him he 
will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him he will cast 
thee off forever!" Ah ! my young friends— ye young men 
whose hearts are set upon the world, and the things of 
the world ; ye who are pressing after the riches of the 
world, and the honors of the world, and the pleasures of 
the world, here you may see how these things appear in 
a dying hour, how they are viewed even by a dying war- 
rior and a king. Riches are nothing — honor, fame, all 
worldly splendor, all worldly glory — nothing. Religion 



S4 2 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

looms up then. The favor of God, that is everything; all 
else fades away like twinkling stars before the rising sun. 
And how was this great truth confirmed by Solomon 
himself, too, when the hour for his departure drew near. 
You recollect his language, " Vanity of vanities, all is 
vanity." And again : Let us hear, says he, the conclusion 
of the whole matter: — "Fear God and keep his command- 
ments, for this is the whole duty of man, for God shall* 
bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing 
whether it be good or whether it be evil." Believe me, 
young men, the time is coming when these views will be 
our views. God grant we may all be prepared for that 
hour ! 

There are duties and considerations presented in our 
text, which claim the attention of all, but particularly of 
young men. 

I. Duties. — They are expressed in these words: "My 
son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with 
a perfect heart and with a willing mind." First, "know 
thou the God of thy father." Taking it for granted that 
your parents are pious, see to it that you walk in their 
footsteps. The counsel of Eliphaz is good counsel: 
"Acquaint now thyself with God, and be at peace with 
him, thereby good shall come unto you." Some of you 
doubtless, covet knowledge of some kind or other; some 
of you wish to know how you can get riches; how you 
can secure fame; how you can multiply friends; how you 
can enjoy and prolong life. Believe me, there is a kind 
of knowledge better than all this. "My son know thou 
the God of thy father." And why should you seek to 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



543 



know him? Because he is the only living and true God. 
He is your Creator, the source of your being; he is your 
Preserver; his hand is underneath and around you; it is 
in him that you live, and move, and have your being. 
He is your Benefactor; to him you are indebted for 
every comfort, every enjoyment, every breath ; and he is 
your final Judge — you and God must meet, and it would 
be well for you to know who he is, and what he is, before 
you are called into his presence. You should know him, 
not as your fancy portrays him, but as the Bible reveals 
him; as a God, not only good, but just; not only merci- 
ful, but holy; a God, not only long-suffering, but who 
will by no means clear the guilty : in short you are to 
know him in all the beauty, and harmony, and perfection 
of his whole character. O, think how great and glorious 
a being He is! and how happy are those who have him 
for their friend and protector! How happy are those who 
in the exercise of the spirit of adoption, can address him 
in this beautifnl language: "Abba, Father!" and who, 
after contemplating his power and grandeur can say, with 
holy joy and exultation, "This God is our God, for ever 
and ever, He will be our guide, even unto death!" But, 
you are not only to know God; you are, secondly, to 
serve him. What avails knowledge if it does not prompt 
to obedience ? You respect your father's friend, why not 
serve your father's God? Do you ask what you are to 
do? You are in the first place to give him your heart. 
This is expressly commanded, as it is written in the book 
>s, 'My son. give me thine heart;" and this is 
implied in tnis language d our text, "serve him with a 



544 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



perfect heart, and with a willing mind." Yes, your heart 
must be yielded up; "you must love the Lord your God 
with all your heart; you must love him more than you 
love father, or mother, or brother, or sister; more than 
you love your property, or your sins, or your life. Ah! 
this is the main thing required — the heart; the seat of 
the affections; let this be right, and all will be right; for 
love is an all controlling principle. 

**'Tis love which makes our willing feet, 

In swift obedience move; 
The devils know and tremble too ; 

But Satan cannot love." 

But, just here, I wish to remind you of certain things 
which must not be forgotten. First: You must serve 
some master or other. "What," says the apostle, "know 
ye not that to whom ye yield ourselves servants to obey, 
his servants ye are whom ye obey?" And what says our 
Saviour? " He that committeth sin is the servant of 
sin." My second remark is this : " You cannot serve two 
masters." This is what our Saviour also expressly 
affirms : " No man," says he, " can serve two masters." 
And again : " Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." 
These things being so, let it be remembered that the two 
masters who claim your service, are God and the world, 
and you must have one or the other ; and, using the lan- 
guage of Joshua, I would say, " Choose you, this day, 
whom you will serve." Now, if this choice were left to 
your pious mother, or to your pious sister, or to the 
dying Christian, or to the heavenly ones in glory, the 
choice would soon be made, and I am sure it would be a 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



545 



wise choice, and one which you would never regret. But 
no one is permitted to choose for you ; each of you must 
make your own choice ; and I would advise you to act 
discreetly in this matter, for the choice which you now 
make may be ratified in heaven, and settled upon you for- 
ever. Have you a regard for the matter of justice? I 
hope you have. Then, sit in judgment upon the claims 
of these two masters; whose claims are the best, God or 
the world ? You know very well that the claims of your 
Maker are the best, infinitely the best. Then choose 
accordingly. And have you a regard for your own hap- 
piness ? Then sit in judgment upon the character of these 
two masters — which is the best master? One is good, the 
other is bad. One is the very kindest of all masters. He 
will require nothing of you but what is perfectly reasona- 
ble ; nothing but what is directly calculated to promote 
your best interests, and your true happiness; moreover, 
he will be kind to you in the hour of affliction, and will 
not forsake you in the hour of death: nay, more, he will, 
finally take you to heaven, and make you happy forever. 
With regard to the other master, the world, or the devil, 
is he a kind master ? This master is of all others the 
worst. He is a cruel master, a tyrant! His require- 
ments are oftentimes most unreasonable, and he cares not 
for the interest nor the happiness of his servants ; not un- 
frequently he will require what is opposed to principle 
and conscience. I will give an example. Alexander 
Hamilton was challenged by Aaron Burr to fight a duel. 
This method of settling disputes was not in accordance 
with the feelings or judgment of General Hamilton; nay, 



54-6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



it was in direct opposition to his principles and con- 
science. He left this upon record. I have read what 
may be termed his written protest. The amount of what 
he wrote was this ; that he did not approve of duelling, 
that it was abhorrent to all his feelings; that it was 
against his principles and conscience; but, he added, 
" the world expects it, the world demands it, and therefore 
I must accept the challenge." And he did accept it, and 
did fight ; and sad to tell, he fell ! was suddenly snatched 
from his family, and laid in an untimely grave. And 
now, listen to the colloquy between the master and the 
servant, in such a case. " Fight the duel," says his stern 
master. " It is against my conscience," replies the ser- 
vant. "Who cares for your conscience? Fight the 
duel!" " Well, but my master, I have a lovely wife ; she 
is the jewel of my heart; and if I should fall in single 
combat, she could not survive it, she would go down 
broken-hearted to the grave." " And what of that ? Let 
your wife go down broken-hearted to the grave! Who 
cares for your wife? Fight the duel, I command you !" 
" But, my master, I have a number of dear children ; they 
are young and tender, and as yet unprovided for ; and if 
I should at this time be cut off, they may be thrown 
upon the cold charities of an unfeeling world ; they may 
even become paupers, and how can I bear to think of the 
evil that must come upon them?" " Who cares for your 
children ? what if they become paupers, and even vaga- 
bonds — who cares for that? Fight the duel I again com- 
mand you !" " But, O my hard master, listen to me. 
My mother taught me, that after death comes the judg- 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



547 



ment. I am not prepared to die, and if I should be slain 
in this combat, I fear that my poor soul may be lost, may 
be damned to all eternity." "And pray, who cares for 
your soul ? who cares if your soul should be lost and 
damned to all eternity? I care not; that is a very small 
matter. Fight the duel, I command you ! — fight the 
duel!" O what a cruel master this is! What a tyrant ! 
He has no regard for your principles, or feelings, or con* 
science; no, nor even for the salvation of your soul. 
And is this the master of your choice ? Are you willing 
to wear his iron yoke ? Well, when you are crushed and 
ruined, whom will you have to blame, but yourself? O, 
how you will reproach yourself! How you will charge 
yourself with madness and folly, in rejecting the kindest 
of all masters, and preferring one who is a hard, unfeeling 
and cruel tyrant! Remember, if you make a bad choice, 
you yourself must suffer for it and I would now say to you, 
as Paul did to the Philippian jailor, who drew his sword 
and would have killed himself, " Do thyself no harm." 
" My son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve 
him." Take his yoke upon you, it is not galling, it is 
easy; take his burden upon you, it is not heavy, it is 
light. Yes, his service is a reasonable service, it is per- 
fect freedom. This choice, you will never repent. Be- 
lieve me, the ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, 
and all her paths are peace. Believe me or rather believe 
Him who cannot lie — " Godliness is profitable unto all 
things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that 
which is to come." Have you made this choice in your 
own heart? Then, in the next place make an open 



548 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

avowal, a public profession of it; yes, come out from the 
world, take your stand openly upon the Lord's side. Let 
your conduct speak this language, 

" I'm not ashamed to own my Lord, 

Nor to defend his cause." 

Have moral courage. Be willing that ihe whole world 
shall know that you are a Christian, that you are a disci- 
ple of the Lord Jesus ; and that, God helping you, you 
are determined to serve him faithfully till you die. Con- 
secrate to his service your time, your talents, your prop- 
erty, your influence, your all. Let your language be the 
language of the converted soul, " Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do?" And if any of you be called to serve 
him in the ministry of the word, yield promptly; yield 
cheerfully, and say with Isaiah, *' Here am I, Lord, send 
me." But, if not ealled to preacn the gospel, be sure, 
that in whatever station you may be placed, the full 
weight of your influence shall be on the side of religion 
and morality. 

And here permit me to say a few things on the subject 
of temperance. In the present state of things it is called 
for. Young men, with your own eyes you have seen the 
evils of intemperance. Perhaps some of your own 
acquaintances; perhaps some of your own companions, 
have fallen victims to this vice. O, who can tell how 
great an evil it is ! Who can tell what mischief it has 
done ! We have heard of wars, which have laid cities in 
ashes, and kingdoms in ruins. We have heard of torna- 
does, which have carried the plougshare of destruction 
over the fairest portions of the earth. We have heard of 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



549 



volcanic irruptions rolling lava far and wide. We have 
heard of mighty earthquakes, which in one disastrous 
hour have swallowed up thousands and tens of thousands 
in one wide, yawning terrific grave ! — I have heard of 
many such things; but here is one, perhaps more ruinous 
to man and his best interests than all such put together. 
For, whereas other evils chiefly affect the body, this 
reaches the soul ; and whereas other evils are confined to 
times and places, this sweeps over the whole world, as 
some sirocco of the desert, or some blast from the pit! 
Like Death upon the pale horse, it sends a thrill of horror 
wherever it goes. It curses men, and curses women. It 
withers everything that is beautiful, and blasts everything 
that is good. Poverty, and disease, and strife, and vio- 
lence, and murder, are in its train; and death and hell 
wind up the fearful escort. Young men, let the temper- 
ance banner wave over you! Be its unflinching advocate 
— be its fast friend. Never traffic in ardent, spirits; and 
rather die than " deal but death by the half-pint." O, 
what a meeting there will be between the rumseller and 
his victim in the resurrection morn! A Boston poet has 
been very graphic here: 

" One was the drunkard, early dead. 
The other, he who hurled him to the grave ! 
As the grave raised its rattling shroud, and 
Let their bodies forth, clothed, both with dismal 
Immortality — the drunkard started, 
As he slowly turned, and fix his horrid eyes 
On him who shrank from that look of death, 
And sprang to seek his hiding tomb. Moaning 
He said — ' Spirit ! why gaze on me ? Who art 
Thou ? Knowest thou me ?' ' Know thee ?' loud shrieks 
Replied ; « Know I "this judgment morn ? Know I 



55O REVIVAL SERMONS. 

The threat to meet thee here again ? Stand forth ! 

Thou doomed, unconcerned fiend ! Aye, well I know 

Thee! Well I knew on earth, thy damning arts 

That lured me to the grave ! Stand forth ! and look 

On yonder flowery spot, whence rose to heaven 

My angel wife and babes, and read the 

Inscription on their tombs, and mine ! I am 

The murdered man thou sawest die, and thou, 

My murderer ; the monster seller of that 

Ardent fire that burned my body, and now 

Burns my soul! But, hark! the judgment-trumpet 

Calls ! and we must meet the Judge ! I told thee 

So, when dying on my bed of straw, in 

Yonder world. Away ! Away ! for still the 

Trumpet calls ! It calls for thee, thou murderer ! 

And I will be a witness at the bar, 

And call on God to damn thy soul and mine J" 

Young men, you must exert a great influence in your 
day and generation, for good or evil. Remember, there 
are two great interests set up on earth, and they are 
antagonistical. O, see to it, that the full weight of your 
influence be on the right side. Be bold in your opposi- 
tion to everything that is evil, and demoralizing; be val- 
iant for the truth; " serve the God of your fathers with a 
perfect heart, and with a willing mind." Tell me not, 
that zeal in the cause of virtue, of religion, and of God, 
will interfere with your other engagements or lawful call- 
ings in life. By no means will it. You may have the 
plough, or the pen, or even the sword, in your hand, and 
God in your heart at the same time. In every calling, in 
every profession, in every pursuit of life, you may find 
illustrations of the fact, that piety and the lawful pursuits 
of life, are by no means incompatible with each other. 
Do you wish to be a lawyer? Be it so. Seldon was a 
lawyer and Seldon was a very pious man. Do you covet 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 55 1 

the office of a judge ? Very well. Sir Matthew Hale 
was a judge, and Sir Matthew Hale was a most devoted 
Christian. Do you desire to be a physician ? Be it so. 
Bcerhaave was a physician, and no one questions his piety. 
Would you be a merchant? Divie Bethune was a mer- 
chant, and so was Robert Ralston, and who knows not 
that their praise is in all the churches? But you must be 
a mechanic. Be it so; that is an honorable calling; 
Harlan Page was a mechanic, and Harlan Page had many 
converted by his instrumentality, to rise up and call him 
blessed. And should you even wish to be a soldier — be 
it so. At the call of your country, buckle on your armor. 
Go forth and meet the invading foe. Yes, at the call of 
your country, be a soldier. Cornelius was a soldier, and 
so was our own beloved Washington. The apostle says, 
"Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the 
Lord." The idea is this, that duties never clash. You 
can be a zealous, warm-hearted Christian, and at the 
same time be active and enterprising in all the lawful 
callings and pursuits of life. Indeed, he who professes to 
be a Christian, and neglects his temporal duties, dishon- 
ors the name of Christ; hence the language of the apostle, 
" He that provides not" for his own, and especially for 
those of his own household, hath denied the faith, and is 
worse than an infidel;" and the rule laid down, which 
embraces all duties, whether of a temporal or spiritual 
nature, is this: "Whatsoever thy hands find to do, do it 
with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor 
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave to which thou goest." 
Yes, in relation to everything which claims your attention, 



552 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

be active and diligent, remembering the words of our 
blessed Redeemer, " The night cometh when no man can 
work." But, as we have said, our text embraces, 

II, Considerations which are worthy of the attention 
of all, but particularly of young men. The first is ex- 
pressed in these word : " The Lord searcheth all hearts, 
and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts." 
The idea is this, that the eye of God is upon you ; that 
he knows not only all your actions, but all your thoughts. 
He is with you at all times, by night and by day, at home 
and abroad, and is perfectly acquainted with your whole 
character; you are ever in his immediate presence, and 
have to say, with Hagar in the wilderness, "Thou, God, 
seest me !" What a powerful confiideration this is to hold 
the sinner in check, and make him anxious, neither to do, 
or say, or think anything that is wrong. ?1 Thou, God, 
seest, me!" The" bare thought of it is enough to make 
the dagger to fall from the ; j.and of the assassin. The 
bare thought of it is enough to cause the cup to fall from 
the hand of the inebriate ; and enough also, to cause the 
oath to die half uttered upon the tongue. O remember, 
young man, that you can hide nothing from your Maker, 
that every sin you commit is known and registered, and 
that the day of review must come! The second con- 
sideration is this: " If thou seek him, he will be found of 
thee." O, if you only knew what is implied in finding 
God ! if you only knew how rich and happy this would 
make you ! Count up all the silver and the gold in this 
wide world ; add every diamond and every pearl ; add all 
the kingdoms on earth, and the glory of them, and 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



553 



what is all this to the favor of God ! The favor of God ! 
— it is everything which men on earth, or angels in 
heaven can desire; hence the language of the Psalmist: 
44 Thy favor, O God, is life ; thy loving kindness is better 
than life." This is the prize presented, and how is it to 
be obtained? By seeking. "If thou seek him, he will 
be found of thee." If some one, in whom you have con- 
fidence, should tell you that there is a jewel hid in the 
sand near your dwelling, which is worth one hundred 
thousand dollars, and that if you seek it you shall find it, 
and finding it, it shall be yours; would you not seek it? 
Aye, would you not immediately enter upon the work of 
seeking it? Would you not seek it by sun-light, and 
star-light? by moon-light, and tcrch-light? and would 
you not seek it with all your heart ? with unwearied per- 
severance, and wth a settled determination never to give 
over, but to seek until you should find it. Now, this is 
the promise made, this is the assurance given in relation 
to the one pearl of great price, " If thou seek him, he will 
be found of thee." And now, if you wish to find the 
eternal God, as the rest and portion of your soul : if you 
wish to repose in his bosom, and share in his everlasting 
love, you must seek him as directed — " Seek ye the Lord 
while he may be found, and call upon him while he is 
near." 

But, in this-matter there are certain things which must 
not be forgotten : — I. You are to seek the Lord while 
you are yet in the morning of life. Few persons, com- 
paratively speaking, are converted after they are thirty 
years of age. The season of youth, ah! that is the golden 



554 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

season, the best season ; hence this special command 
given, " Remember, now, thy Creator in the days of thy 
youth and, also, this special promise, which we find 
upon sacred record, "They that seek me early shall find 
me." 2. You are to seek the Lord, in the forsaking of all 
our sins, as it is written, 44 Let the wicked forsake his 
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him 
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; 
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Yes, 
this is a settled point ; you are to give up all your sins, 
even your most loved and besetting sin. Though dear as 
a right hand, you must cut it off : though dear as a right 
eye, you must pluck it out. The sacrifice may be esteemed 
great, but it must be made, for the Psalmist says : '* If I 
regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me;" 
and if you indulge in one single sin, even in your heart, 
why should he hear you ? Remember, you cannot be 
earthly-minded and heavenly-minded at the same time. 
" You cannot serve God and Mammon." This leads me 
to a third remark : — You must seek the Lord, earnestly; 
you must seek him with all your heart, even as the hun- 
gry man seeks bread, the thirsty man seeks water, or as 
the ambitious man seeks fame. Your whole soul must 
be in the matter. You must feel that everything that is 
dear is at stake — that, if you succeed, you are happy for- 
ever ; if you succeed not, you are undone to all eternity. 
O, then, let this be with you the great concern, to seek 
and find God, as your supreme good, and the portion of 
your soul. And for your encouragement, remember it is 
written, " Then shall ye seek me, and find me, when you 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



555 



search for me with all your heart." Take God at his 
word. Believe the promise, and your salvation is sure. 
Your sins will be pardoned ; God will be your Father, and 
heaven your sweet and everlasting home! 

But a third consideration, or motive, presented in our 
text, is expressed in these emphatic words: "But if thou 
forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever." Here we 
have, as it were, the mutterings of the thunders of the 
last day. The language is awful : how does it fall upon 
your ear? Listen! " But, if thou forsake him, he will 
cast thee off forever." My young friends, suppose your 
parents should cast you off ; suppose your brothers and 
sisters should cast you off; suppose your friends and 
neighbors — suppose the whole world should cast you off 
would you not esteem yourselves wretched ? Let my 
father and my my mother cast me off; let my brothers 
and my sisters cast me off; let my friends, and my neigh- 
bors — let all the world cast me off — but, O God of my 
salvation, do not thou cast me off! for, if driven from thy 
presence, whither, O whither shall I go ? Permit me to 
remark, that when I was quite a youth, one of Watts* 
hymns made a very deep and lasting impression upon my 
mind, particularly these lines : 

« That awful day will surely come, 

The appointed hour makes haste, 
When I must stand before my Judge, 

And pass the solemn test. 

Thou lovely Chief of all my joys, 

Thou Sovereign of my heart, 
How could I bear to hear thy voice^ 

Pronounce the word, DEPART. 



556 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



The thunder of that dismal word 

Would so torment my ear, 
'Twould tear my soul asunder, Lord, 

With most tormenting fear. 

What ! to be banished from my Life, 

And yet forbid to die ? 
To linger in eternal pain, 

And death forever fly ?' 7 

These lines came over my soul with a most awakening 
influence — with a most tremendous power ; but the fal- 
lowing verse crowned the whole : 

«' O ! wretched state of deep despair, 

To see my God remove, 
And fix my doleful station, where 

I must not taste his love!" 

The scenes of the last great day were brought vividly 
before the eyes of my mind. There was the Judge en- 
throned — there the vast multitude of the human family 
assembled— the righteous on the right hand, the wicked 
on the left ; and a great gulf between. Amongst the 
happy ones, I pictured to myself many of my dearest rela- 
tives, and above all, my sainted mother! The Judge 
smiles upon them, but there was no smile for me. I must 
depart! Cut off from God, and his angels-, and all whom 
I loved on earth, I must take an everlasting farewell. 
Driven away, I must wander down the vale of an unblest 
eternity — a wretched, hopeless exile from God, and hap- 
piness, and heaven. O, ye dear youth, who have been 
blessed with pious parents, who have been early taught 
the great truths of our holy religion, how could you bear 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



557 



to see your " God remove?" How can you endure the 
thought of having your doleful station fixed where yon 
"must not taste his love?*' Never, no, never, never 
more! O eternity! eternity! To be exiled from Go\ 
and happiness, and heaven, for a million of years — how 
overwhelming the thought! But, O, forever! V Who 
can paraphrase," (as a poor dyirtg sinner said,) " who c?n 
paraphrase upon the words, forever and forever!" My 
young friends, remember, great eternity is before you, and 
what you do this night may stamp your character, and fix 
your destiny forever! You may try to hide these things 
from your eyes, you may try to forget them altogether; 
but this will avail nothing. God has appointed a day 
wherein he will judge the world; yea, even the secrets 
of all hearts. Amid the scenes of youth, and the pursuits 
and pleasures of this life, you may perhaps enjoy your- 
selves, and get along without God and religion; but what 
will y©u do when the evil days shall come, and the years 
draw nigh, when you shall say, I have no pleasure in 
them. In the morning of life, when everything is smil- 
ing around you, it is quite possible that you may have 
something like joy playing around your heart; but what 
will you do in the day when the sun, or the light, or the 
moon be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the 
rain ? You may get along without God, it may be, when 
you are yet young, and everything is smiling upon you; 
what will you do when the keepers of the house shall 
tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and 
the grinders shall cease because they are few, and those 
that look out of the windows be darkened? You may 



558 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



get along without God, it may be, when you are yet 
young, and everything is smiling around you; but what 
will you do in the day when you shall be afraid of that 
which is high ; and fears shall be in the way, and the 
almond-tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a 
burden, and desire shall fail, because man goeth to his 
long home, and the mourners go about the streets ? You 
may get along without God, and religion, perchance, 
while you are yet young, and everything is smiling 
around you; but what will you do in the day when the 
silver cord shall be loosed, and the golden bowl shall be 
broken ; in the day when the pitcher shall be broken at 
the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern , in the 
day when the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and 
the spirit shall return unto God who gave it? Young 
men, listen to me : this world has a powerfnl charm far 
many, and especially for the young; the influence which 
it exerts over multitudes is truly astonishing ; and after 
all, what is the world, but a "land of unsubstantial 
shades ?" and what are things of the world but " an 
empty, though brilliant show?" So teaches Solomon — 
" Vanity of vanities," says he, "all is vanity." Observe, 
this is not the language of poverty-stricken man, who, 
under the influence of envious feelings, cries down those 
things which he possesses not. Nor is it the longing of 
a carping cynic, who, soured by disappointment, would 
retire from the world in disgust. No, nor is it the lan- 
guage of a man who utters in a moment of excitement 
that which he would fain recall in the season of calm re- 
flection. It is the language of a man famed for his riches, 



A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN. 



559 



and wisdom, and prosperity. It is the language of Solo- 
mon, the son of David, and king of Israel. No man 
probably, that ever lived, was better qualified to form a 
correct estimate of the world and the things of the world, 
for, it seems, there was no source of worldly enjoyment 
to which he had not repaired in his pursuit after happi- 
ness, and here he gives the result of his long continued 
observation, the verdict of his own dear bought experi- 
ence — "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Notice, Solo- 
mon does not affirm, that some earthly things are vain, 
but all — "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Not that 
Solomon intended to say, that literally there is nothing 
good or desirable on earth. His idea is this: as the 
supreme good, or portion of the soul, everything of an 
earthly nature is weighed and found wanting. This falls 
in with the language of the poet : 

" The world can never give, 
The bliss for which we sigh." 

And if I mistake not, this falls in also with the experience 
of the gayest of the gay, now present. Ah ! believe me, 
"There is nothing true, there is nothing firm, there is 
nothing sweet but heaven !" O, my young friends, in 
view of all these things, be persuaded to seek something 
better than this world can give. The world! how vain 
will it appear when you are sinking in the cold embrace of 
death ! The world ! what a poor thing, what a beggarly 
portion, when it shall be wrapped in the winding-sheet of 
the last great conflagration : and oh ! how utterly un- 
worthy of the aspirations of an immortal mind, must all 



56o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



its riches, and honors, and splendors this moment appear 
to those bright spirits who are now high in the climes of 
bliss, and bathing in glory, as in the sunlight of heaven ! 
Therefore, young men, listen, oh listen, I again entreat 
you, to the language of the text ; it was the dying charge 
of a father to a son whom he loved ; and it may in sub- 
stance be the charge given to some of you, by some be- 
loved parent, now gone to glory ! O hear it, as the coun- 
sel of experience and love ! O receive it as the voice of 
an oracle, or angel of God : — " My son, know thou the 
God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and 
with a willing mind, for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and 
understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. If 
thou seek him, he will be found of thee, but, if thou for 
sake him, he will cast thee off for ever." 



SERMON XII. 

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude ; and as the voice of many 
waters; and as the voice of mighty thnnderings, saying, Allelulia! for the 
Iiord God omnipotent reigneth."— Rev. xix. 6. 

That there is a God, all nature cries aloud, through all 
her works ; and the religious rites and ceremonies which 
prevail on earth, plainly declare the general belief, that 
this great Being has not retired from the scene of his 
creating power, but still, as a sovereign God, presides 
over the world and the creatures which he has made. Of 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



561 



the true nature and character of this government, however, 
little can be gathered from the light of reason, and the 
researches of the learned. To obtain clear and correct 
information upon this point, we must have recourse to the 
sacred volume, and, such are the views which it presents 
of the Divine government, that, in the contemplation of 
them, we shall find abundant matter for the loud and har- 
monious shout in the heavenly world: — "Allelulia, for 
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth !" According to the 
Scriptures, the government of God is unique, for, whereas 
the right of earthly monarchs to reign is founded, some- 
times in conquest, sometimes in the elective franchise, 
and sometimes in hereditary claim; the government of 
God is founded in none of these things, but in principles 
infinitely more sublime. It is founded, 

I. In Creation. — He who, on earth, has founded an 
empire, is thought to have a right to rule the empire which 
he has founded. Now, God having created all things ; 
having brought all things out of nothing into existence, 
has, in the sublimest sense of the term, founded the em- 
pire of the universe; and, therefore, has an undoubted 
right to reign over the empire which he has thus founded. 
Hence the language of the Psalmist, "The earth is the 
Lord's, and the fulness thereof: the world, and they that 
dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas, and 
established it upon the floods." And again: "O, come, 
let us worship, and bow down ; let us kneel before the 
Lord, our Maker. He made us, and not we ourselves; 
we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his 
hand." 



562 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



II. In Preservation. — He, who originally created, still 
sustains all things. The whole universe rests upon his 
hand, and should this great Being, only for a moment, 
withdraw his upholding hand, the pillars of the universe 
would sink ; the whole frame of nature would be dissolv- 
ed; yea, all created existence would immediately vanish 
away, and leave nothing behind save the throne of God, 
and a boundless solitude! As all things, then, depend 
upon God, for their continued, as well as original existence, 
here of course is another firm foundation upon which the 
government of God is rightly based. 

III. In the Perfections of God. — Certainly, it is right 
and proper that he should hold the reins of government 
who is best qualified to rule: especially where such 
immense interests are at stake. And here we may ask, 
with the Psalmist: "Who, in the heavens, is like unto the 
Lord our God ? and who, in all the earth, can be com- 
pared unto Him?" Is wisdom requisite to manage the 
complicated affairs of this vast universe? God is infinite 
in wisdom. Is goodness necessary ? God is supremely, 
unchangeably, and everlastingly good. Is power requi- 
site ? "The thunder of his power who can understand ?" 
But, why speak we of single perfections? God, as one 
well remarks, is 

« A God all o'er consummate, absolute ; 

Full orbed ; in his whole round of rays complete." 

No wonder, then, that the exile of Patmos, caught up in 
the visions of God, " heard, as it were, the voice of a 
great multitude; and as the voice of many waters; and as 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



563 



the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Allelulia! for 
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth !" The immediate 
occasion of this great shout in heaven seems to be the fall 
of mystical Babylon, or Papal Rome; but, no doubt, every 
new developement of Divine Providence will renew the 
shout, through all the ages and cycles of great eternity ! 
That we may better understand the subject, and also be 
prepared to respond to the loud and rapturous shout in 
glory, "Allelulia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigheth/' 
let us notice some of the distinguishing features or char- 
acteristics, of the government of God. And, 

1. It is supreme and universal. — The Lord hath pre- 
pared his throne in the heavens, says the Psalmist, and his 
kingdom ruleth over all. There are many governments 
on earth; and, doubtless, there are many thrones and 
principalities in the other worlds, but the throne of God is 
high over them all ! Alexander the Great was called 
master of the world, but there were many regions of the 
earth over which his sceptre was never stretched, and 
there were many people of whom he had even never heard. 
And even within the limits of his acknowledged empire, 
how many kings disdained his control! Not to mention 
the lions of the forest, and the leviathans of the deep, 
could Alexander the Great rule the changing seasons ? 
Could he command the lightning? or the rain? or the 
hail ? or the storm? Alexander's kingdom was extensive, 
but not to be compared with the kingdom of the God of 
heaven. Alexander ruled over many kings, but God over 
all! Yes, God hath prepared his throne in the heavens, 
and, literally, his kingdom ruleth over all ! over all men^ 



5^4 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



over all worlds, over all creatures, in the broadest sub- 
limest sense, over all! But 

2. The government of God is not only supreme and 
universal, it is particular. — It not. only extends to great, 
but to small objects; not only to the mighty whole but to 
every part! Yes, whilst his power and his wisdom are 
employed in upholding and directing the "hosts of suns, 
and stars, and adamantine spheres, wheeling unshaken 
amid the void immense," his wisdom and his goodness 
are engaged in directing and controlling all things on 
earth, from the revolution of an empire to the falling of a 
sparrow. It is even so ! He that garnishes the heavens 
also beautifies the earth. He that numbers the stars, and 
calls them by their names, also numbers the dew-drops 
of the morning, and the sands upon the sea-shore! That 
hand which bears up the mighty seraph, sustains the 
meanest insect, and He who bids the roaring tempest 
sweep the earth, directs the breathing of the softest zephyr! 
Stagger not at this! for "as one day is with the Lord as 
a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," so an 
atom is with God as a world, and a world as an atom! 
As immensity cannot confound him, so minuteness can- 
not escape him ! The fact is, with God there is nothing 
great! With God there is nothing small! Some persons 
admit the general government of God, but deny his par- 
ticular providence. The idea is absurd ; for what, if I 
should say of a physician, he has a general practice, but 
no particular patient! or of a scholar, he is a man of very 
general reading, but he never reads any one book! But 
what says the Saviour on this subject? It is striking, it 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 565 

is -conclusive. "Are not two sparrows sold for one far- 
thing, and not one of them shall fall without your Father? 
Fear not, the very hairs of your head are all numbered!" 
How small is the sparrow in the lone wilderness ! and how 
insignificant is the single hair which has fallen from your 
head! And yet, according to the Saviour, even such 
things are not overlooked in the providence of God ! And 
what is taught as true, in the word of God, is shown to be 
necessarily true also by reason — for we find that in the 
world of nature, providence, and of grace; in all the 
departments of the Divine government, we find that great 
matters and little matters are oftentimes linked together; 
and who does not know that in a chain stretched across 
a river, the breaking of a small link may prove as serious 
a matter as the breaking of a great link ! How many 
striking illustrations of this fact have we in history, in 
observation, and experience ! The cackling of geese 
once saved the city of Rome from the power of the Gauls. 
Joseph's coat of many colors was one link in a chain of 
most surprising events ! A single playful remark of Fran- 
cis the First, occasioned a bloody war between France 
and England. The carving of a few letters in the bark 
of a tree, led to the noble invention of printing ! And, 
to the apparently accidental falling of an apple, we are 
indebted for some of Sir Isaac Newton's sublimest demon- 
strations in natural science; and who of us need to be 
reminded of the tremendous consequences of our first 
parents' eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree? 



566 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



" her rash hand in evil hour 

Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she eat ! 
Earth felt the wound ; and Nature from her seat, 
Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, 
That all was lost !" 

And cannot every one of us recollect some little remark, 
or incident, which has led to most important changes in 
our lines and circumstances ? In the case of Joseph — 
his coat of many colors, his dreams, the envy of his 
brethren, his being sold into Egypt, his being falsely 
accused, his being cast into prison, his interpreting the 
dreams of the chief baker and butler, and also the dreams 
of Pharoah and Joseph's interpretation of them, and the 
advancement of Joseph to be governor over all the land 
of Egypt, and finally, the settlement of Jacob and all his 
family in the land of Goshen — here are many things, 
some small, some great, linked together. Each event 
seemed to be casual, each actor free ; and had the narra- 
tive been given by one of that age, he would very natu- 
rally have said : " It happened so and f? it happened 
so" — and yet, if one of these things which " happened" 
had not happened, then, perhaps, the grand result would 
not have taken place ! But this leads me to speak of 
another distinguishing feature, a characteristic of the 
Divine government. 

3. The government of God extends, not only to all 
things, but to all events; not only to all creatures, but to 
all their actions. I am aware that we are here launching 
into the deep; but the Bible is our chart. It is a good 
chart, and we need fear nothing. 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 567 

Reader, I am a Calvinist, so called ; not that I embrace 
all the dogmas of the great Genevan divine, but certainly 
those that are embraced in the standards of our Church ; 
and the longer I live, and the more carefully I examine 
the subject, the more thoroughly convinced am I, that 
the system usually termed Calvinistic, is firmly based 
upon the Bible, and will stand the " test of scrutiny, of 
talents, and of time." Nay, I will go further, and say 
that the system needs only to be correctly understood by 
all the true people of God, to be received and loved. I 
repeat it, I am a Calvinist, but I am no fatalist! I hold 
to the sovereignity of God, and also to the free-agency 
of man, and whilst I believe that God worketh all things 
after the counsel of his own will, yet it is in such a way 
as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is vio- 
lence done to the freedom of the creature; nor is the 
y or contingency of second causes taken away, but 
; established." It may not be possible for me to 
nate between the human and the divine agency; 
nor can I tell where one color in the rainbow terminates, 
and where another begins; yet do I know that these 
colors are different, and both in the rainbow. I may not 
be able to reconcile the free-agency of man with the fore 
knowledge of God, which all must believe ; suffice it to 
know that both doctrines are taught in the Bible, and I 
know that the Bible is true. Do I trample upon reason? 
I deny it. I have a syllogism — it is this : My heavenly 
Father says that these doctrines are all true. My 
heavenly Father never tells lies, and therefore these doc- 
trines are all true ! But can they ( ever be reconciled or 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



explained ? I believe they both can and will be, when 
God gives the key. Suppose, for a moment, that you 
were totally unacquainted with your twofold existence, as 
consisting of soul and body. Now, whilst believing 
yourself to be a simple, and not a compound being, sup- 
pose I should say : " You are a mortal man, and must 
soon die ;" and the next moment should pronounce you 
an immortal being, and affirm that you can never die, but 
must live forever! Would you not say that I spoke very 
absurdly, and used very contradictory language ? But, 
should I add, wait a little, and you will have the key, and 
then all will be plain, and you will see that all is true, 
and there is no absurdity ; no contradiction whatever ; 
methinks you would reply, " No, sir, no key will answer, 
none can reconcile things so perfectly contradictory . 
4 mortal,' and yet at the same time 4 immortal must die ! 
and yet will not, cannot die ! The thing is absurd, it 
cannot be!" But when you are let into the secret of 
your twofold nature — O, now! there is no difficulty at 
all ! Even so, in relation the sovereignity of God, and 
the free-agency of man, we find it difficult to reconcile 
hese things now, because the key is wanting. In afuture 
state the key will be given, and then there will be no diffi- 
culty at all. In the mean time let us remember that the 
Bible is suited to our probationary state. We need our 
faith tried, as well as any other grace, or virtue. And now 
our grand inquiry is, What does the Bible teach ? for 

" This is the judge that ends the strife, 
Where wit and reason fail ; 
My guide to everlasting life, 
Through all this gloomy vale." 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



5^9 



That the government of God extends, not only to al 
things but to ail events ) not only to all creatures, but to 
all their actions. In other words, that the providence of 
God is, in some way or other, concerned with all that 
is done or transpires on earth, is manifested from very 
many passages of Scripture. The strongest, I think, are 
those which assert the providence of God in cases where, 
least of all, it might have been expected. 

Thus, in the 127th Psalm we find it thus written: "Ex- 
cept the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in 
vain." And again, " The lot is cast into the lap, but the 
whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." But there is 
another passage of Scripture, perhaps, yet more remark- 
able ; inasmuch as it asserts the providence and purpose 
of God in a case involving sin, dreadful sin ! The pas- 
sage referred to is found in Acts ii. 23 : " Him, being 
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge 
of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have cruci- 
fied and slain." The crucifixion of Christ, by envious 
and wicked Jews, was certainly a crime of great magni- 
tude; and yet the apostle Peter tells us expressly that it 
was "according to the determinate counsel and fore- 
knowledge of God." The explanation of the matter is 
simply this : God knowing all things, foreknew what evil 
passions would be waked up in the bosom of the Jews 
by the Life, and doctrines, and reproofs of our Saviour, 
and he also knew full well to what a murderous deed 
those evil passions would lead, if not restrained. For 
wise and benevolent purposes towards our race, God 
determined not to restrain those evil pasions, but to leave 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the Jews (as of course he justly might) to the freedom of 
their own will — leave them to act out their own will — 
leave them to act out their own depravity; purposing as 
I have said, to overrule the whole matter to the accom- 
plishment of great ends. God was certainly under no 
obligation to exercise a restraining influence upon those 
wicked Jews; and if he foreknew what crime they unre- 
strained would commit, his " foreknowledge had no influ- 
ence on their fault, which had proved no less certain un- 
foreknown ;" hence the apostle Peter, at the very time 
that he speaks of the crucifixion or Christ as being 
according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge 
of God, nevertheless, charges home all the guilt thereof, 
upon the wicked Jews. Observe his language! " Him, 
being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore- 
knowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands 
have crucified and slain." The case of Joseph, also, is 
precisely in point. He was hated by his brethren, and 
by them sold into Egypt. This was a great sin ; and 
afterwards, when in trouble, they freely confessed it 
And they said, one to another, we are verily guilty 
concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of 
his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear, 
therefore is this distress upon us. And Reuben an- 
swered, saying : Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not 
sin against the child, and ye would not hear; therefore, 
behold also, his blood is required." Thus, all who had a 
hand in selling Joseph, acknowledged and felt that they 
had acted freely, and they writhed under the stings of an 
accusing conscience. Yet, when Joseph made himself 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



571 



known unto them, and they were greatly troubled at his 
presence, what said Joseph unto them ? "I am Joseph, 
your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now, therefore* 
be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold 
me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve 
life. Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto 
good, to save much people alive." There needs be no 
difficulty. The case is simply this. God, being infinitely 
wise, knows how, in perfect consistency with the perfec- 
tions of his character, to make use af all instrumentalities, 
good and bad, for the accomplishment of his wise and 
benevolent purposes. Certain things God brings to pass 
by a positive agency. Other things he simply permits 
to come to pass. And, let it be remarked, permission 
and approbation do not, by any means, mean the same 
thing. Napoleon Bonaparte, when a child, wished to go 
to a certain place, but was forbidden by his mother. Be- 
ing headstrong, he persisted in going. " Well, my son," 
said the mother, "you may go, but remember! it is not 
with your mother's approbation." And thus God often- 
times permits things which, so far from commanding, he 
lorbius, and highly disapproves. He permits, some- 
times, because he would not interiere with the free- 
agency of the creature. He permits, sometimes, because 
he purposes (as in the cases already mentioned) to over- 
rule the evil intended for good ; and sometimes he per- 
mits, in a judicial way, as a punishment for sins previously 
committed. Hence the language of Paul in reference to 
the heathen and their abominations : " Even as they did 
not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them 



572 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



over to do things which are not convenient." And now 
let it not be forgotten, this is all that is meant by a cer- 
tain passage in our Shorter Catechism, which has been 
much cavilled at, viz: " The decrees of God are his eter- 
nal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby 
for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes 
to pass." In other words, it may be stated thus: — By 
the decrees of God we mean no formal legislative enact- 
ment, (as, " Thus it shall be," and " thus it shall not be,") 
but, simply the calm and settled purpose of an infinitely 
wise and gracious God, to bring to pass, or permit to 
come to pass, whatsoever does come to pass, for the 
glory of his name. Does any one ask, what is the diff- 
erence between bringing to pass, and permitting to come 
to pass ? I answer, God brought to pass the incarnation 
of his Son; he permitted to come to pass his crucifixion. 
The difference is as wide as the east is from the west. 
Our doctrine, then, is simply this: — By positive and 
permissive decrees, God, in wisdom and in love, man- 
ages the affairs of the universe, directs and controls all 
things, and all events, all creatures, and all their action. 
It must be so, for, suppose an event to take place 
without the Divine permission ; because God is not aware 
of it, or cannot prevent it. If not aware of it, he can- 
not be omniscient; if he cannot prevent it, then he 
is not omnipotent; and then, of course, in the last 
case, " there must be a power behind the throne greater 
than the throne itself," which thought would be frightfu I 
No, our doctrine is true, that the goverment of God ex- 
tends not only to all things, but to all events, not only to 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



573 



all creatures, but to all their actions. In other words 
that a Divine providence is concerned, in some 
way or other, "in all the good and ill that checker 
human life." Is further proof demanded ? Permit me to 
quote a very remarkable passage found in Isaiah xlv. 7 : 
" I form the light, and I create darkness ; I make peace 
and create evil ; I, the Lord, do all these things." What \ 
the Lord create evil f Yes! but in such a way as casts 
no stain upon his moral perfections; but, on the contrary, 
will furnish new matter for admiration and praise. Hence 
the language of joy and gratulation which immediately 
follows : — " Drop down, ye heavens, from above ! and let 
the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, 
and let them bring forth salvation. Let righteousness 
spring up together; I, the Lord, have created it." But 
how does God create evil ? As he does darkness. The 
first sentence explains the last. Observe the language : I 
form the light and I create darkness. How does God 
form the light? By a positive influence, pouring radiance 
around. How does God create darkness? By with- 
holding this radiance. Even so, by a positive influence, 
God makes peace, and by withholding that influence 
creates evil, that is, permits it. In this, is God the author 
of sin? No more than the sun is the source of darkness, 
although its absence occasions that darkness. But this 
leads me to notice another distinguishing feature, or char- 
acteristic of the goverment of God. 

4. It is absolute. — There is no doctrine more plainly, 
taught in the Scriptures than this. " Our God is in the 
heavens," says the Psalmist, "he hath done whatsoever 



574 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



he pleased." And again : " Whatsoever the Lord pleased, 
that did he, in heaven and in earth ; in the seas and in all 
deep places." Paul confirming the doctrine, positively 
asserts that God worketh all things after the counsel of 
his own will. And Elihu, knowing that some would be 
disposed to contend against the doctrine, says : " Why 
dost thou strive against him ? for he giveth not account 
of any of his matters." As God is indebted to none for 
his crown, He is amenable to none for his government. 
Being the Creator and Preserver of all things, he is, in 
the sublimest sense of the term, the proprietor of all 
things; and, therefore, has a right to do all his pleasure, 
in the armies of heaven, and amongst the inhabitants of 
the earth ; and being infinitely perfect, it should be a 
matter of boundless joy and gratulation, that he is, and 
ever will be, the reigning God ! He giveth not account 
of any of his matters, and why? Because the policy of 
his government, and his reasons of state cannot be com- 
prehended by any finite mind. Sufficient for us to know, 
that He is infinitely wise and good, and does all things 
well. As a sovereign God he gives and withholds the 
fruits of the earth, and the rains of heaven. As a sover- 
eign God he commands the hail and the tempest; the 
lightning and the storm; and, at his command, also, 
fierce diseases go and come. Yes, when it seems good in 
his sight, 

« He involves the heaven 

In tempest ! quits his grasp upon the winds, 
And gives them all their fury, bids the plague 
Kindle a fiery boil upon the skin, 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



575 



And putrefy the breath of blooming youth ! 
He calls for Famine, and the meagre fiend 
Blows mildew from between his shrivelled lips, 
And taints the golden ear I" 

The Lord, says Hannah, in her song of thankfulness, 
"The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich. He bringeth 
low, and lifteth up. He raiseth the poor up out of the 
dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set 
them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne 
of glory! for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and 
he hath set the world upon them." The idea is this. 
The Lord is the proprietor of all things, and therefore a 
sovereign God! Yes, my reader, as a sovereign God, 
he has not only fixed the bounds of the sea, but he has 
also fixed the bounds of our habitations; the bounds of 
our possessions, the bounds of our lives. All things are 
under the control of a wise and powerful God ! If, then, 
some are rich and some are poor, some are honored and 
some despised ; if some have great prosperity, and some 
have great affliction; if this child is an idiot, and that has 
good sense; if this child is born a cripple, and that in the 
full exercise of all its limbs, it is, " Even so, Father, for 
so it seemed good in thy sight." And this reminds me 
of the case of the poor little mute in one of our Institu- 
tions for the deaf and dumb: "Child," said a visitor (the 
conversation was in writing,) "child, can you tell me who 
made the world?" "In the beginning God created the 
heavens and the earth," replied the mute. " Very well, 
and can you tell me who Jesus Christ is?" "In the 
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 



57^ REVIVAL SERMONS. 

and the Word was God," was another beautiful answer 
of the mute. " All very good," said the gentleman, "and 
now, one question more. Can you tell me, child, how it 
comes to pass that you are deaf and dumb when others 
can both hear and speak ?" " Even so, Father, for so it 
seemed good in thy sight," replied the child with great 
meekness. Where did this child of affliction learn this 
lesson? At the feet of the blessed Jesus. You recollect 
the Saviour had sent out his disciples, two and two, to 
preach the gospel, and when they returned with joy and 
said, " Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through 
thy name," it is added, "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in 
spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven 
and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from 
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." 
Our Saviour, when on earth, often wept, but so far as I 
can recollect, only on this occasion, is he said to have 
rejoiced. And in what did he rejoice ? In the sovereignty 
of God ! " I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise 
and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even 
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." This is 
the more remarkable as it has reference to the sovereignty 
of God exercised in spiritual matters, in giving to some 
what was hidden from others. And we find the same 
spirit animating Paul, and in relation to the same matter. 
Hear his own words: Blessed be the God and Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with ail spir- 
itual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



577 



he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the 

world, that we should be holy, and without blame before 
him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of 
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good 
pleasure of his will, in whom also we have obtained an 
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose 
of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his 
own will." The doctrine of God's sovereign and elect- 
ing love is here plainly taught. And Observe it is not a 
national election that is spokon of, for Paul says, Who 
hath chosen us? Not us Gentiles, for Paul was not a 
• Gentile, nor us yews, for the Ephesians were not Jews. 
If we were addressing a company of Africans, we would 
not say, us Africans. We are not Africans, nor could we 
say, us Americans, for they are not Americans. No na- 
tional election can then here be intended, nor the election 
of characters, for those said to be chosen in Christ, were 
not said to be chosen in Christ because they were holy, 
but that they should be holy. And this reminds me of a 
passage in the Acts. Luke says: "And as many as were 
ordained unto eternal life believed." If the election of 
characters and not persons be intended, Luke made a 
slip of the pen, and should have said, As many as believ- 
ed were ordained unto eternal life. But no! this is the 
way it is written, "And as many as were ordained unto 
eternal life believed." But, as Paul, in the passage quoted, 
has no reference to a national, nor election of characters, 
neither does he here offer reference to the apostleship of 
anything of the kind, for the persons to whom the epistle 
was addressed, were simply "the saints at Ephesus," and 



578 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



"the faithful in Christ Jesus;" besides, it is expressly 
stated that they were chosen, not to the apostleship, nor 
anything of the kind, but to the adoption of children. 
Some object to the doctrine of election. Is it the word? 
It is in the Bible, in numerous places, and cannot be ex- 
punged. Is it the principle f You elect your governors, 
your presidents, your judges, your sheriffs, your pastors, 
your partners in love and trade. No principle more com- 
mon amongst men : we should not marvel, therefore, if it 
be common with God. Do men set a value upon the 
exercise of the principle? Go to the ballot-box, and tell 
that free-born American that he shall not exercise the 
elective franchise ! He will surrender his life, before he 
surrenders that right ! If, then, man sets a value upon 
the principle, why may not his Maker? But, is the doc- 
trine of personal election objected to? And what is this 
doctrine? I would define it thus: — It is God s .plan of 
securing the salvation of some, of a great multitude which 
no man can number ! Now, why should we object to a 
plan for securing the salvation of a great multitude of the 
human family, which no man can number, when, without 
it, the salvation of all would be in jeopardy? 

And here I am reminded of the remark of a certain 
very pious old lady. When asked whether she believed 
in the doctrine of election, "Certainly," replied she, "for 
it is in the Bible." " What !" said the inquirer, " do you 
believe that you were elected before you were born?" 
" Yes," said she promptly, " I have been such a poor vile 
sinner, if God had not elected me before I was born, he 
never would afterwards." This remark, if I mistake not, 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



579 



must be understood and appreciated by all who know 
anything of their own hearts, and have felt the power of 
God's victorious grace. And here permit me to remark, 
that the doctrine of election was designed for the conso- 
lation of God's children ; and I would appeal to the feel- 
ings of every real Christian. Is it not more delightful to 
think that God set his love upon us from all eternity, than 
that he began to love us the other day ? And what is so 
cheering to the child of God, need not be discouraging 
to the unconverted, for they have the same encourage- 
ment to seek salvation now, that the Christian had before 
he was converted. And the fact is, the grand inquiry is, 
not whether we can understand every part of the scheme 
of redemption, but whether there is such a scheme 
whereby the sinner may be saved. Not whether two or 
three doctrines in the Bible are hard to be understood, 
but whether the Bible itself, which contains these doc- 
trines, be the word of God. Not whether we are of the 
elect or reprobate, but whether we are sinners, and need 
the salvation of Christ ; for it is very remarkable, the same 
Bible which tells us that "whom God foreknew, them he 
also predestinated," also says, " whosoever will, let him 
take of the water of life freely." And again : " It is a 
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Thus there 
are two classes of Scripture passages, and we believe 
them both. And as I have said before, so say I again, 
there is no more difficulty in reconciling the fore-ordina- 
tibn, than the fore-knowledge of God with the free-agency 
of man, so that Christians of different persuasions should 



58o 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



be very kind and charitable towards each other, inasmuch 
as (so far as regards the matter of difficulty) they are all 
in the same condemnation ; and one thing is certain, if 
the system called " Calvinistic" be not scriptural, it looks 
very much like it. To prove this matter let us try it in 
this way. Suppose that the apostle Paul should enter 
the sacred desk, disguised as a preacher, and looking 
over the congregation, should break out in these words: 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in 
heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, according as he hath 
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that 
we should be holy and without blame before him in love; 
having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by 
Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure 
of his will." Would you not suspect that this stranger 
was a Calvinistic preacher ? And suppose, waxing a lit- 
tle warmer, he should go on and say : " Moreover, whom 
he predestinated, them he also called; and whom he 
called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, 
them he also glorified. Who shall lay anything to the 
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who is 
he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather 
that is risen again, who also maketh intercession for us." 
Would you not think the preacher strongly Calvinistic? 
And suppose, waxing still warmer, and rising with the 
grandeur of the theme, he should add : " The Lord hath 
made all things to himself, even the wicked for the day 
of evil: therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have 
mercy ; and whom lie will he hardeneth. Thou wilt, 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD, 



581 



then, say unto me, Wherefore doth he yet find fault? 
for who hath resisted his will ? Nay, but O man, 
who art thou that repliest against God? Shall 
the thing formed, say to him that formed it, Why 
hast thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter power 
over the clay, of the same lump, to make one vesse| 
unto honor, and another unto dishonor ?" Sup- 
pose, I say, the apostle Paul, disguised as a preacher^ 
should utter these " hard sayings," would you not pro- 
nounce him a Calvmistic preacher of the " straitest 
sect?" Ah! my reader, the case is clear* According to 
the Scriptures, God is a sovereign God, and doth his 
pleasure in the armies of heaven, and amongst the inhabL 
tants of the earth, and there is none that can stay his 
hand, or say unto him, What dost thou ? As an absolute 
sovereign, he rules over all the worlds of nature, and of 
grace g and if one person is prospered, and another 
afflicted ; if one is born in a gospel, and another in a pagan 
land ; if one lives to an old age, and another is cut down 
in youth, or early childhood ; and if one is converted 
and made the trophy of victorious grace, and another is 
permitted to go on in sin, and perish in sin, it is 11 Even 
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight'* 

« Nor Gabriel asks trie reason why. 
Nor God the reason gives 1" 

But, 5. The last distinguishing feature, or character- 
istic of the Divine government, is this : It is wise and 
good — infinitely wise and good ! If a being clothed 
with such tremendous power— O ! if a being invested 



582 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



with such absolute dominion over all things, were capri- 
cious or malignant ; if he took pleasure in inflicting pain, 
or delighted in the death of any of his creatures, how 
frightful would be the condition of the universe ! But 
joy, joy to creation ; this great Being, this sovereign God, 
is no less wise than he is powerful ; no less good than he 
is great! It is true, that there are mysteries in Divine 
government ; and not unfrequently the paths of the 
Almighty are in the deep waters, and his ways past find- 
ing out. It is because God works upon a large pattern. 
His schemes embrace all time, and all eternity. Of 
course we can see only a part, and how can we judge of 
the whole ? Some cavil and object, because sin and sor- 
row have been permitted to enter our world ; but who 
can tell, whether by the wise and overruling providence 
of God, these may not be made use of as the shading of 
some great moral picture ? One thing we know, a dark 
ground is best for gilding, and precious stones set in 
ebony, shine with more brilliancy ! There are, moreover, 
providences in relation to nations, families, and individ- 
uals, which, to such short-sighted creatures as we are, 
appear very mysterious, but in the winding up, we shall, 
no doubt, all have to say, He has done all things well. 
You recollect the case of Jacob. In a dark hour he said, 
" Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Ben- 
jamin away also. All these things are against me, and 
will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave." 
But mark the winding up ! Joseph is taken away, it is 
true, but it is only for a season ; and, lo ! Joseph's 
wagons are come ! Joseph is made governor over all the 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



583 



land of Egypt ; he has provided corn for the patriarch 
and all his household ; and, lo ! Joseph's wagons are 
come to take them all down into Egypt, to nourish them, 
and keep them well provided for in a time of famine! 
And see, too, those silvery locks of his, which the patri- 
arch, in a dark hour, said, should go down with sorrow 
to the grave. Only see how they fall upon the neck of 
his beloved son, Joseph ! 

« Shall little haughty ignorance pronounce 
His works unwise ? the smallest part of which 
Exceeds the narrow vision of her mind ? 
As if upon a full proportioned dome, 
With swelling columns heaved, the pride of art, 
A critic fly, whose feeble ray scarce spreads, 
An inch around, with blind presumption bold, 
Should dare to tax the structure of the whole 1" 

"A thing," says Eliphaz, "was secretly brought unto 
me, and mine ear received a little thereof. In thoughts, 
from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth 
upon man, fear came upon me, and trembling, which 
made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before 
my face ; the hair of my flesh stood up: it stood still, but 
I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before 
mine eyes. There was silence, and I heard a voice say- 
ing, Shall mortal man be more pure than his Maker? 
Behold, he put no trust in his servants, and he charged 
his angels with folly." Child of the dust, enter into thy 
nothingness ! Creature of yesterday, put thine hands to 
thy mouth, and listen to the loud and harmonious shout 
of the heavenly world : " Allelulia ! for the Lord God 



584 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



omnipotent reigneth !" Now, my reader, "we see 
through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now, we 
know in part, but then shall we know, even as also we 
are known." O, when all darkness shall be removed, 
and the plans of heaven shall be fully developed, we shall 
then see that everything permitted and done on earth, 
was permitted and done in wisdom and in love. Here is 
a piece of embroidery. It is some great masterpiece of 
art. You look upon the wrong side. You see nothing 
beautiful or distinct ! Turn the right side, and you ex- 
claim, 4< O, what a beautiful piece of embroidery this is ! 
The colors, how brilliant! The figures, how distinct!" 
Here is a celebrated painting stretched over the wall. It 
has many figures, and they are so arranged that, to the 
eye that takes in the whole design of the artist, it appears 
most admirable ; but there is a curtain hanging over a 
part of it, and you are perplexed. Remove the curtain ; 
then comes admiration, and you laud the artist, and pro- 
nounce the painting the most beautiful and perfect that 
you have ever seen. So it is with all the plans and provi- 
dential dispensations of Heaven. When the curtain is 
removed, then will they appear in beauty and glory far 
transcending all our conceptions now. " What I do," 
says the Saviour, " thou knowest not now, but thou shalt 
know hereafter." "Alleluia! for the Lord God omnipo- 
tent reigneth!" 

Christians ! here is a matter of joy for you! O how 
delightful to think, that it is your God and heavenly 
Father who fills the throne, and sways the sceptre, and 
rules over all! And joy upon joy! He will never abdi- 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. 



585 



cate the government, but will reign forever ! In what 
rapid succession do the kings of the earth succeed each 
other; but our King is one, and there is no other. The 
alone monarch of the universe. None before him ! none 
after him ! Through all the ages of time, through all the 
cycles of eternity, One and alone ! " The Lord shall reign 
for ever and ever," says the Psalmist, " even thy God, O 
Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord." He 
reigns over the world, and, although wickedness abounds, 
and sorrows now prevail, yet the world is in good hands, 
and all its affairs are under the control of a wise and a 
powerful God. Aye, and the time is coming, when great 
voices shall be heard in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms 
of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and 
of his Christ!" Moreover, Christian, your God reigns 
over the Church. Aye, and "Zion enjoys her Monarch's 
love." God is in the midst of her. God will help her, 
and that right early. "Look upon Zion, the city of our 
solemnities. Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet hab- 
itation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down. Not 
one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed; neither 
shall any of the cords thereof be broken; but there the 
glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and 
streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither 
shall gallant ships pass thereby." But God not only 
reigns over the world and the Church. He reigns overall 
things. Then, believer, remember, He reigns over you 
and yours. All your interests are safely lodged in his 
hands. Has sorrow entered your dwelling ? Has deep 
affliction come upon you? O remember! He who notices 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the falling sparrow, will not forget the children of his 
love ! Fear not, in the sight of your heavenly father you 
are of more value than many sparrows. All your trials 
are known to him ; your sighs are heard ; yours tears are 
in his bottle j and the promise is, All things shall work 
together for good to them that love God. Yes, thank 
God! 

" There is a day of sunny rest, 

For every -dark and stormy night ; 
And grief may hide an eveniug guest, 

But joy shall come at morning light !'* 

Allelulia! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth! 
Amen. Allelulia! 



SERMON XIII. 

THE BLESSEDNESS OF BEING A CHRISTIAN. 

Beloved, now are we the sons of G-od, and it doth not yet appear what we shall 
be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall 
see him as he is. — 1 John. iii. 2. 

Believers may be unknown to fame; by worldlings they 
may be despised; by witlings and infidels they may be 
held in contempt. It matters not; it is a blessed thing to 
be a Christian. It is better to be numbered amongst the 
disciples of Christ, than to be enrolled amongst the most 
distinguished heroes the world ever saw. In proof of this 
assertion, I need only adduce the words of our text: "Be- 



BEING A CHRISTIAN. 



587 



loved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet 
appear what we shall be; but we know that when he 
shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him 
as he is." 

The present and future condition of believers, will be 
the theme of our meditations at this time. 

I. The present condition of believers. — This is present- 
ed in these beautiful words: "Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God." In a certain sense, all mankind are the 
sons of God, as he is the Author and Source of their 
being; but, believers are the sons of God, in a sense 
peculiar to themselves ; and even they were not always 
such ; for, according to the Scriptures, they themselves 
were once the children of wrath, even as others. But 
they have been made the children in two ways : by 7egen~> 
eration and adoption. 

First: By regeneration. The great doctrine of regen- 
eration is clearly taught, both in the Old and New Testa- 
ments, but it was made very prominent by our Saviour, 
in his conversation with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 
This man came to Jesus by night, and said, " Rabbi, we 
know that thou art a teacher, come from God; for no 
man can do these miracles, that thou doest, except God 
be with him/' Jesus knowing how superficial were his 
views in the matter of spiritual things, and replying rather 
to his thoughts than to his words, said unto him, "Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he 
cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus expressing 
his astonishment at this declaration, Jesus answered and 
said unto him, " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye 



538 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



must be born again: the wind bloweth where it listeth, 
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell 
whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is every one 
that is born of the Spirit." Thus the Saviour, whilst he 
admits that the doctrine may not be easily comprehended 
by man, does not explain it away, but re-affirms its truth. 
He teaches that it is of the operations of the Spirit, and 
may be known by its effects. We cannot see the wind; 
we cannot tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth; 
but we know that there is such a thing as wind; for we 
can feel it, and we can see the effects thereof. So in the 
matter of regeneration. But, what is regeneration? In 
what does it consist, and what are its proofs? It is a 
work of the Divine Spirit, infusing spiritual life in the 
soul; and, as it were, new-creating the whole moral man 
— giving the subject thereof new views, new feelings, new 
sorrows, and new joys, especially a new taste and relish 
for spiritual things; so that, of the man truly regenerated 
it may be affirmed, he is a "new creature in Christ," old 
things are passed away, behold, all things are become 
new. But those who are Christians, are made the chil- 
dren of God, not only by regeneration, but by adoption. 
And what is adoption? "Adoption is an act of God's 
free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and 
have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God." By 
regeneration we are made to possess the nature, by adop- 
tion, the inheritance of sons; so that, I repeat it, by 
regeneration and adoption, we are, in a peculiar and most 
blessed sense, constituted the sons, or children of God ; 
and here, in speaking of the present condition of believ- 



BEING A CHRISTIAN. 



ers, it is proper for us briefly to notice some of their 
privileges, and the honors now conferred upon them. 
And, 

First: They are owned as the children of God. — What 
a privilege and honor this is ! When it was proposed to 
David, the vanquisher of Goliath, to become, by marriage, 
the son-in-law of King Saul, he seems to have been quite 
overwhelmed with a sense of the honor proposed to be 
done unto him, and said, "Seemeth it to you a light mat- 
ter to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I am a poor man, and 
lightly esteemed?" Now, if David thought it such a 
great thing to become the son-in-law of an earthly mon- 
arch, what shall we say of the privilege and honor con- 
ferred upon us, poor sinners and worms of the dust, to be 
made the sons and daughters of the Monarch of all worlds 
the great and glorious God! whom all the heavenly 
armies worship and adore. " Behold," says John, " what 
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that 
we should be called the sons of God." 

Secondly : We are not only called the sons of God, or 
acknowledged as such, but we are treated as such. Yes ! 
As children we are taught of God ; as it is written, " All 
thy children shall be taught of the Lord." And it is a 
remarkable fact, that Christians of every communion, of 
all classes, and of every age, give proof that they all have 
been brought into the same school ; have had the same 
teacher ; and all have learned substantially the same 
lessons. And here I may mention, in few words, some 
of the most important lessons which they have all been 
taught A first lesson is, the vanity of the world. Under 



590 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



Divine influences, they have been brought to have such 
a view and sense of the emptiness of all things here below, 
that they are led to desire and seek after " a better coun- 
try, even an heavenly." A second lesson is, their sinful- 
ness, they are brought to know and feel that they are 
sinners ; yea, in the sight of God, great sinners. They 
are led to see that it is of the Lord's mercies that they 
have not been consumed ; and the prayer of the publican 
has been made their prayer, " God be merciful to me a 
sinner!" A third lesson taught to all who are the chil- 
dren of God, is the depravity of their hearts— the corrup- 
tion of their whole moral nature. The Bible says: "The 
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately 
wicked;" and the Saviour says, "Out of the heart pro- 
ceed evil thoughts," &c. This may seem strange to the 
unrenewed man ; but, when fully brought under Divine 
influence, he finds that the Bible account of the matter is 
but too true ; that the heart is indeed deceitful and 
wicked ; a bad soil, where lies the germ and buddings 
of all manner of iniquity ; a polluted fountain, whence 
bitter waters are ever flowing ; and the prayer of the 
Psalmist is found a most appropriate and much needed 
prayer : " Create within me a clean heart, O God, and re- 
new within me a right spirit." A fourth lesson taught 
by the Lord to all of his children, is their weakness and 
helplessness. Once they thought themselves strong ; 
could repent just when they pleased, and (to use a com- 
mon phrase) " get religion" just when they pleased. And 
I must say, that even persons who are really under Divine 
influences, when first awakened, are usually of the same 



BEING A CHRISTIAN. 59 1 

opinion still ; hence, as soon as they are roused to a con- 
sideration of their lost condition without Saviour, they 
immediately go about to work out their own salvation. 
They go from duty to duty ; from ordinance to ordinance; 
from resolution to resolution : thus endeavoring to estab- 
lish a righteousness of their own. They are going to 
outstrip old professors ; they are going to do wonderful 
things! But, after a while, they find that they do not get 
along as well as they expected. They make promises, 
and they break them ; they purpose to do this, and they 
do it not : they want to repent, and they cannot repent ; 
they want to believe, and they cannot believe; they want 
to love, and they cannot love ; they want to feel, and their 
hearts are as hard as rock ! They are astonised — think 
that their case is very peculiar ; are tempted to believe 
that their day of grace is over. Ah ! now they feel that 
their case is an evil one ; that they are lost, and cannot 
help themselves ; yea, that their strength is perfect weak- 
ness; and, with a humbled heart, are ready now to say, 

" A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, 
On thy kind arm I fall ; 
Be thou my Strength, and Righteousness, 
My Jesus, and my All." 

A fifth and last lesson which I shall mention is, the 
suitableness and preciousness of Christ to the poor trem- 
bling sinner. It is wonderful what new views of Christ 
the sinner has, when brought under the teachings of the 
Divine Spirit. He that formerly was as a " root out of a 
dry ground," is now as the " rose of Sharon," yea, as the 
"cnielest among ten thousand, and the one altogether 



592 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



lovely." The sinner sees that the blessed Redeemer is 
exactly suited to his case ; that there is not a want in 
himself but there is a corresponding fulness in the Lord 
Jesus Christ; and now he would rather be saved by him, 
than in any other way, and his language is, " Here, Lord, 
I give myself away, 'tis all that I can do." 

« Welcome, welcome, dear Redeemer, 
Welcome to this heart of mine ; 
Lord, I make a full surrender ; 
Every power and thought be thine. 
Thine entirely, 
Through eternal ages thine." 

These are some of the most important lessons taught 
by the Lord to all of his children. And thus, as parents 
teach their children, or cause them to be taught those 
things which are requisite and necessary, so God, our 
heavenly Father instructs the children of his love. But 
again : As children, God corrects us. " Whom the Lord 
loveth," says Paul, " he chasteneth, and scourgeth every 
son whom he receiveth." And again: "If ye endure 
chastening, God dealeth with you you as with son is he 
whom the father chasteneth not?" And again: " Further- 
more we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected 
us, and we gave them reverence ; shall we not much 
rather be in subjection the Father of spirits and love ? 
For they, verily for a few days, chastened us, after their 
own pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might be par- 
takers of his holiness." What a thought this is ! If we 
are indeed, by regeneration and adoption, the children 
of God, then all of our afflictions come from the hand 



BEING A CHRISTIAN. 



593 



of our heavenly Father ; they are nothing but the sterner 
voice of God's parental love, designed to do us good, to 
wean our affections from earth, and ripen us for heaven, 
our home, our sweet and everlasting home ! Let us 
never forget this ; and the thought of it will tend greatly 
to lighten our heaviest burdens, and sweeten the bitterest 
cup. This caused the Psalmist to say, " I was dumb, I 
opened not my mouth, because thou didst it." Beloved, 
now are we the sons of God, and as children, God cor- 
rects us. What a blessed thing it is to be a Christian ! 
But this is not all. As children, God permits us to come 
to him in ever hour of trouble and need, and make known 
to him all our sorrows, and our desires. See that little 
child ! It is sick, or, perhaps, some person has hurt the 
child, or it has some wants to make known; how pleas- 
ing, what a comfort it is for this little one to have an 
earthly parent to whom it can go ; one who will lend a 
listening ear to its complaints ; and who, moreover, is able 
'and willing to supply all its wants ! Even so, God, our 
Father in heaven, permits us, as children, to come to him. 
He has erected a throne of grace expressly for our 
accomodation ; and what a glorious throne of grace it is ! 
Its foundations are laid in blood, in blood divine ! It is 
paved with love, and over it is thrown the beauteous 
rainbow, everything inviting us to come with boldness, that 
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in time 
of need. What a privilege this is ! Jacob found it such, 
when, fearing the wrath of Esau, he turned aside and 
offered up this prayer : " O God of my father Abraham 
and God of my father Isaac, deliver me, I pray thee, from 



594 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and smite 
me, and the mother, and the children." And, good king 
Hezekiah, also, found the same a very precious privilege, 
when the prophet having said unto him, " Set thine house 
in order, for thou shalt die, and not live," he " turned his 
face to the wall, and prayed, and wept sore." And, my 
brother, what would induce you to part with this privi- 
lege ? When Herod killed John the Baptist, his disciples, 
we are told, took up his body and buried it, and went and 
told Jesus. And so, my Christian friends, whenever you 
have sorrows, you may go and spread them before Him, 
who cares for you, and who can both pity and relieve. I, 
therefore, repeat it — What a blessed thing it is to be a 
Christian ! Permit me to say, I thank God that / ever 
was converted. " Beloved, now are we the sons of God," 
and as sons, or children, God permits us to come to him, 
and pour out before him all our sorrows and our wants. 
Blessed be God ! But even this is not all. To crown the 
matter, as children, God has provided for us a rich inheri- 
tance. Parents, if they can, are careful to make some 
provision for the future wants of their children. Even so, 
God has laid up in store for his children something to 
meet their wants in a future state. He has laid up for 
them an inheritance ; and O, how rich and great is that 
inheritance ! It is " an inheritance, incorruptible, unde- 
nted, and which shall never fade away." It will be 
enough to supply all their wants, and meet every desire 
through all the ages of eternity. But this leads me to 
notice, 

II. The future condition of believers. — The apostle not 



BEING A CHRISTIAN. 



595 



only says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God;" but 
he adds, "and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but 
we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, 
for we shall see him as he is." There is much embraced 
in . these words, " and it doth not yet appear what we shall 
be." It is as if the apostle had said: There is something 
great awaiting the believer behind the curtain, but how 
great we cannot tell ! Something glorious but how 
glorious we do not know. This may remind us of what 
Paul says: '* Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, nor 
have entered into the heart of man what things God hath 
prepared for them that love him." When the Queen of 
Sheba came to Jerusalem, and had seen all Solomon's 
wisdom, and the house that he had built; and the meat 
of his table, and the sitting of his servants; and the 
attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; and his 
cup-bearers; and his ascent by which he went up unto 
the house of the Lord, we are told that there was no 
more spirit in her, and she said to the king : " It was a 
true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts, and 
of thy wisdom ; howbeit, I believed not the words until I 
came, and mine eyes had seen it ; and, behold, the half 
was not told me: thy wisdom and thy prosperity exceed- 
eth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy 
are these thy servants, which stand continually before 
thee, and hear thy wisdom!" So it will be with the child 
of God, when he reaches the heavenly world; when he 
shall have seen " the King in his beauty," and shall have 
gazed upon the angels bending around the throne, and the 
redeemed, in their robes, " washed, and made white in the 



59^ 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



blood of the Lamb." When he shall have heard the 
sweet and rapturous songs of that heavenly- world, and 
shall have tasted of its unutterable joys, methinks he will 
exclaim in admiration : — I heard of heaven when I was on 
earth; I heard of its glories and its bliss; but, O, the half 
was not told me ! Heaven ! sweet heaven ! it exceedeth, 
it far, very far exceedeth, all that I ever heard, that I ever 
dreamed of when on earth ! Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be." 

I. " It doth not yet appear what we shall be," in point 
of dignity. It is true, we are told that we shall be made 
"kings and priests unto God;" but we know not what is 
implied in being made "kings and priests unto God." 
Moreover, we are told that we shall be made equal unto 
the angels; but we never saw these angels. It is true, 
John says he saw an angel come down from heaven, and 
the earth was lightened with his glory. This, to be sure, 
is calculated to give us very exalted conceptions of these 
first-born sons of light; but we have never seen an angel 
with our own eyes, and, therefore, we know not what it 
is to be made equal unto the angels. We know not what 
we shall be in point of dignity, as we have said; but this 
I will venture to affirm, we have reason to believe that 
the humblest believer on earth shall, in heaven, attain a 
point of dignity, and grandeur, and glory, to which the 
loftiest angels cannot attain. Is this extravagant? Let 
us hear what the Bible says : " To him that overcometh," 
says the Saviour, "will I grant to sit with me in my 
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with 
my Father in his throne." Now, I ask, where, and when, 



BEING A CHRISTIAN. 



597 



was it ever proposed to the loftiest angels in heaven, to 
have the honor of sitting down with the great Redeemer 
upon his throne ? Again, the Saviour, praying for his 
disciples, uses this language : " That they may all be one, 
as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; that they may 
be one with us." We know not what this oneness with 
the Eternal Son and Everlasting Father means; but, one 
thing we know, this honor is proposed to be done to 
men, not to angels. Again; the apostle, speaking of 
believers, says : " If children, then heirs ; heirs of God, 
and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. ,, Notice this language, 
"joint heirs with Jesus Christ!" We know not precisely 
what this means ; but, we know that the honor intended 
is exceeding great, and no mention is made of angels 
being permitted to share in this high honor. Again; we 
find Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, using this 
language: "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge 
the world ? Know ye not that we shall judge angels ?" 
Where is it said, in all the sacred volume, that angels, 
however exalted, shall judge the world — shall judge 
angels ? No, no ! This high honor is not for them ; it is 
reserved for ransomed sinners, for those who, by faith, are 
united to Christ in their effectual calling. And here is 
the secret, or rather the explanation of the whole matter : 
The Eternal Son of the Eternal God, has taken human 
nature, in connection with the Divine, and thus has raised 
human nature to this high eminence of grandeur and 
glory. 

Peter L of Russia set his affections upon a plebeian 
girl. He married her, and thus raised her to his bosom 



598 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



and his throne. On some grand gala day, see this 
mighty monarch on his throne ! The nobles are around 
him, and all the princes of the blood, paying homage to 
their sovereign. And now, where is that plebian girl ? 
Whilst the nobles, and all the chief officers of the realm, 
are standing around their monarch, there she is seen, 
robed and crowned, a bride, seated at her husband's side. 
Even so, in the resurrection morn, when the mighty host 
of angels and archangels shall stand around the throne 
of the great Redeemer, the redeemed shall be raised 
above them all, and as the bride, the Lamb's wife, shall 
be permitted to sit down at her husband's side even upon 
his throne ! O what high rewards and immortal honors 
await the redeemed in that world which is to come! And 
why this ? Because the work of redemption is greater 
than the work of creation. It is the master-piece of the 
great God, and all its memorials will be to the Lord 
emphatically for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of 
beauty. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it 
doth not appear what we shall be, but of this we are con- 
fident that the humblest believer on earth, shall, when 
arrived at heaven, attain a point of dignity exceeding 
great; even above that of the loftiest angels in glory! 

2. It doth not yet appear what we shall be in point of 
knowledge. The Bible authorizes us to believe, that in 
heaven there shall be a vast expansion of mind, a vigor 
of intellect, and a range of thought, of which we can now 
form no adequate conception. The Bible says, " Now 
we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face ; now, 
we know in part, but then, we shall know even as also we 



( 

BEING A CHRISTIAN. 599 



are known." This indeed proves that knowledge will be 
greatly increased in heaven, but, to what extent, at the 
present time we know not. Even on earth, we find that 
there can be a great expansion of mind, and an immense 
increase of knowledge, within the space of only a few 
years. See Sir Isaac Newton, when a little child in his 
mother's lap, pointing to the stars, and looking upon 
them only as little spangles ; and see the same person, 
some forty or fifty years after, then a man, a great 
philosopher, with spy-glass in hand, measuring the empire 
of the great God, and telling us that those twinkling 
lights, in the firmament, once supposed to be no more 
than little spangles, are so many brilliant suns, mighty 
globes, each a million times larger than the world which 
we inhabit, and rolling with a speed far beyond that of 
the fleetest cannon-ball, or swiftest whirlwind. What an 
expansion of mind, what an increase of knowledge, within 
a few years on earth, and this, too, with such poor helps 
as we have in this world ? What then must be the ex- 
pansion of mind, and enlargement of knowledge in 
heaven, amid the long roll of mighty ages, and with such 
instructors as we shall there have ! There is a very re- 
markable passage found in the thirteenth chapter of 
Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. In the very chap- 
ter in which he says, " Now we see through a glass, 
darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but 
then shall I know even as also I am known in that very 
chapter we find these words, " Whether there be tongues, 
they shall cease ; whether there be knowledge, it shall 
vanish away." This seems strange, but the idea is this : 



6oo 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



— As the stars fade away at the rising of the sun, their 
feeble rays being swallowed up and lost in the effulgent 
splendors of the bright and burning sun, even so, the 
knowledge which we have have on earth shall dwindle 
into insignificance, into nothing, when compared with the 
infinitely greater knowledge we shall have in yonder 
world of dazzling light and glory! O heaven, sweet 
heaven ! There we shall have all light, and no shadows ! 
all day, and no night ! Yes ; this is the testimony of the 
angel, given to John in the Isle of Patmos — u And there 
shall be no night there." What new views we shall have 
of the grandeur of God, and the glories of his divine per- 
fections ! What new discoveries of the immensity of his 
empire, and the wisdom of his administration ! And, 
with regard to the wonders of Redemption, what new, 
what delightful, what overwhelming views we shall have 
of them ! Then we shall understand the full meaning of 
that heavenly song, sung by those who stand upon a sea 
of glass, mingled with fire: "Great and marvellous are 
thy works, Lord, God, Almighty! just and true are thy 
ways, thou King of saints." Ah ! my brethren, we know 
that our knowledge in heaven will be greatly increased ; 
but we can now form no more idea of the exceeding 
greatness of our knowledge in heaven, than the prattling 
child can have of the knowledge of the greatest and 
wisest man who ever lived on earth. One thing, how- 
ever, we know, that one scene of brightness will yield to 
another scene of greater brightness ; light will be cased 
in light, and glory casketed in glory ! And as the eagle, 
in her upward flight, soars away, far away from earth, as 



BEING A CHRISTIAN. 



60 1 



if she would revel amongst the stars, and light "upon the 
chariot of the sun, so the ransomed soul, on wings sub- 
lime, shall expatiate amid the bright splendors which for 
ever play around the eternal throne! '* Beloved, now are 
we the sons of God, and it doth not appear what we shall 
be,'* neither in point of dignity, nor knowledge, and, I 
may add — nor joy ! According to Scripture, the joys of 
heaven are exceeding great, they are unspeakable. " In 
thy presence," says the psalmist, " there is fulness of joy ; 
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." 
Think of God, what a glorious Being he is, and how 
sweet to share in his smiles, and forever to bathe beneath 
the unclouded glories of his countenance ! Think of our 
blessed Saviour, and the joy of seeing him as he is in 
glory, surrounded by saints and angels, who in notes of 
sweetest harmony are for ever hymning his praise ! And, 
to crown this joy, our text says, " we shall be like him, 
for we shall see him as he is." The vision of the Re- 
deemer will not only be beatific, it will be transforming ; 
and then shall be brought to pass what is written in the 
oracles of divine truth," we all, with open face, beholding 
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the 
same image, from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the 
Lord!" O ! to bear the image of him whom we love, and 
all the angels love! to bear the image of him who is the 
brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image 
of his person ! Who can conceive of the joy, the raptu- 
rous joy which this will inspire ! If this were all, it might 
truly be said, we know not what we shall be in the matter 
of joy. Next comes the society of the blessed ! 0 ! to 



602 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



think of mingling- with angels, pure angels, being made as 
angels ourselves ! and then to have, as our companions 
in bliss, the whole company of the redeemed — the patri- 
archs, the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs ! How de- 
lightful to see and converse with Abel, the first of the 
human family who ever entered the portals of heaven! 
And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, who was translated, 
that he should not see death, having before his translation 
this testimony, that he pleased God ! How delightful 
also, to see and converse with Noah, who with his family 
was saved in the ark, when the waters of the deluge 
passed over the whole earth ! And there too, we will 
meet Abraham, the father of the faithful ; and Isaac, the 
child of promise ; and Jacob, the venerable patriarch, who, 
dying, leaned upon the top of his staff, and spake so 
sweetly of Shiloh who was to come, saying, " I wait for 
thy salvation, O Lord!" And there is Moses, the saint 
of God, by whom the Law was given in Sinai's awful 
mount; and Joshua the son of Nun, who had the honor 
of leading the tribes of Israel into the promised land. 
But the time would fail me to tell you of Samuel the 
prophet, and David, the sweet singer of Israel; and Isaiah 
whose visions of the Messiah were so clear; and of John 
the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way of the Lord. 
And there is Peter too, the ardent one ; and John who 
leaned upon his Master's bosom at the paschal feast; and 
Paul, who was so miraculously converted on his way to 
Damascus ; and Stephen, whose face did shine as the face 
of an angel, and who had the honor of leading on the 
noble army of martyrs under the New Testament dispen- 
sation. 



BEING A CHRISTIAN. 



603 



And will it not be joyous to meet in glory the unnum- 
bered millions of every age, of whom we have never 
heard ; and our own beloved friends and acquaintances, 
too, with whom, in the sanctuary, in the social prayer- 
meeting, and around the domestic altar, we mingled our 
prayers and songs of praise ! And, what say you of the 
joy of meeting and greeting that sainted mother, who led 
you in tender life to the throne of the heavenly grace, ami 
who, dying, charged you to meet her in heaven ! O the 
sweet joys of heaven/'and the fulness thereof! But why 
enlarge ? I might mention the sweet music, the loud and 
harmonious songs of the heavenly world, as a source of 
joy, and the boundless increase of knowledge : in short, I 
might mention as the sum of all, the absence of all evil 
and the possession of all good, and the stamp of immor- 
tality given to each and every source of joy ! But, it is 
enoueh to say, with Paul, eye hath not seen, ear hath not 
heard, nor have entered into the hear of man, what things 
God hath prepared for those that love him. " Beloved, 
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear, 
what we shall be : but we know that, when he shall appear 
we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." 

" A hope so much divine, 

May trials well endure ; 
May purge our souls from sense and sin, 

As Christ the Lord is pure. 
If, in my Father's love, 

I share a filial part, 
Send down thy Spirit, like a dove^. 

To rest upon my heart. 
We would no longer lie 



604 REVIVAL SERMONS. 

Like slaves beneath the throne ; 
Our faith shall, Abba, Father, ery* 
And thou the kindred own," 



SERMON XIV. 

THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION. 
And he &aid, To-nsorrow.— Exoiros viii. 10. 

Commissioned by the God of heaven, Moses and Aaron 
went in unto Pharaoh and demanded the release of the 
children of Israel ; threatening, in case of disobedience, 
that tremendous plagues should come upon the land. 
Pharaoh disobeyed ; and, accordingly, these plagues came 
in rapid and awful succession. It was whilst one of these 
plagues was upon the land, (the plague of frogs,) that 
the monarch of Egypt sent for Moses and Aaron, and 
said, Entreat the Lord for me, that he would take away 
the fro^s. And Moses said, " When shall I entreat for 
thee f* And he said, "To-morrow." Is not this strange? 
One would think that Pharaoh would have said — Moses, 
what a question this is I You see with your own eyes, 
what an evil case I am in. Do you suppose that I can 
be willing to remain in this case another day, or even 
another hour? Do you ask, when you shall pray for 
me ? Why, of course, the sooner the better — this day, 
this hour, this moment — But, no : he said, " To-morrow l" 
Is this strange? It certainly is. But I am strongly 



THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION. 605 



inclined to think, that this incident was recorded to pre- 
sent, in a figure, a case very common, and which is really 
far more strange; I mean the case of the sinner, who 
puts off to some future period the great work of securing; 
his soul's salvation. In speaking from the words of our 
text, I purpose to notice several points of resemblance 
between Pharaoh and the impenitent sinner. And, I 
must say, I do think that the points of resemblance are 
very exact 

I. Both are in an evil case. — Pharaoh was certainly in 
■an evil case, for God was dealing with him, and the judg- 
ments of heaven were upon himself, and upon his land* 
The monarch of Egypt felt that he was in an evil case* 
He must have felt it, and that very sensibly, or, verily, 
he had never sent for Moses and Aaron, and entreated 
them to pray for him. What! a proud man, a haughty 
king, beg the people of God to pray for him! This is 
convincing proof that Pharaoh believed himself in an evil 
-case. And, I ask, what is the case, or condition of the 
sinner? According to the representation of the Scrip- 
tures, he is in the open field of ruin. His pious friends 
have come to Him, who is declared to be a hiding-place 
before the wind, and a covert from the tempest; but, 
alas! the impenitent sinner has no such hiding-place-— 
he is still in the open field of ruin, and what, though he 
may not see the lightnings flash, nor hear the thunders 
roll, the storm is coming ; and when it comes, it will be 
far worse than that which smote man and beast in the 
land of Egypt Exposed every hour to be caught up in 
the whirlwind of divine wrath, and to the peitings of a 



6o6 



REVIVAL SERMONS* 



storm which shall have no end, surely the sinner is ai? 
evil case. O how evil ! 

Again : According to the Scriptures, the impenitent sin- 
ner is in the broad road which leads to death, whilst his 
pious friends are in the narrow path which leads to life. 
Observe, this is the representation of the Saviour himself 
— his language is very striking — -listen to it: Enter ye in 
at the straight gate ; for wide is the gate, and broad is the 
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which 
go in thereat. Because, straight is the gate, and narrow 
is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that 
find it." The Saviour here, it will be seen, represents the 
whole human family as journeying to another and eter- 
nal world; but not all journeying in the same way, nor 
all likely to arrive at the same end. See the great mass 
in the broad way ! The smaller number in the narrow 
path. And whither are the broad travellers going ? To 
life ? To heaven ? Alas 1 no, but to destruction ! — that 
is, to the realms of darkness and despair ! O see the 
broad travellers — they are hurrying on ! Every moment 
drawing nearer and still nearer to the world of woe — the 
gulf of everlasting ruin I With solemnity, I call God to 
record upon my soul, that I would not be in that broad 
road one hour for a thousand worlds ! Sinner 1 remem- 
ber you are in the broad road ! And can you tell me, 
how far off is your journey's end? See, your mother, 
perchance, is in the other way, the narrow way, which 
leads to life. She beckons you to join her. She weeps t 
she prays for you ! O be persuaded — leave the broad 
road — enter in at the straight gate. This is the injunc- 



THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION. 6oj 

tion of the Saviour himself. If you remain where yuu 
are, I tell you the truth in Christ, I lie not, like Pharoah, 
you are in an evil case. 

Again : According to the Scriptures, the sinner is con- 
demned already, and the wrath of God abideth upon him. 
Observe, it is not said that he is in danger of being con- 
demned ; but is condemned already. This is the very 
language of the Saviour, and how awfully does it set 
forth the condition of the sinner ! Did you ever see a 
prisoner upon whom the sentence of death had been 
pronounced ? Did you think him to be in an evil case ? 
Well, he was. But the sinner is under sentence of death 
of a more awful kind, even the death of the soul. It is 
even so. The sentence which dooms him to everlasting 
death, has already passed upon him; and if that sentence 
is not reversed, the pangs of the second death will assur- 
edly seize upon him. But what adds a new ingredient of 
terror, is this, the wrath of God abideth upon him, hangs 
over him as the axe of the executioner, or thunderbolt of 
heaven, which may fall upon him at any moment Sup- 
pose, walking at the foot of a lofty mountain, you should 
look up and see, hanging just over your head, a projected 
rock, quivering, and ready to fall upon you : would not 
this fill you with terror ? but what is that quivering rock 
to the wrath of God ? O that the sinner could but know 
his true condition ! How unspeakably evil it is ! me- 
thinks the cry of the Philippian jailor would soon be his 
cry: "O sirs, what must I do to be saved ?" Once more: 

The sinner is on the left hand of his Judge; his pious 
friends are on the right : hear what the Saviour says, in 



6o8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



relation to this matter. In portraying the scenes of the last 
great day he utters this language: "When the Son of man 
shall come in his glory, with all his holy angels with him ; 
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before 
him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate 
them, one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep 
from the goats. He shall place the sheep upon his right 
hand, and the goats upon the left. Then shall he say to 
those upon the right hand, Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world. And then shall he say to those 
upon the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." O, 
fearful condition of those upon the left hand ! Sinner, 
did you know it, you are upon the left hand this moment; 
and if the angel of death should now touch you, you are 
linked to the left hand, to await that fearful sentence- 
Depart ! Is not this an evil case to be in ? How can 
you consent to remain in it ? How can you consent to 
die in it? But- you are ready to say — O sir, I know that 
the unconverted sinner is in an evil case, and I know that 
I am one ; but, I do not intend to remain in this condi- 
tion, certainly I do not intend to die in it. I hope to be 
converted, I intend to be. This leads me to notice, 

II. The second point of resemblance between Pharoah 
and the impenitent sinner. Both indulge in a spirit of 
procrastination. Pharoah said, "To-morrow," and so 
says every sinner. Yes, I think I may say every sinner. 
Certainly, every one who believes in the great truths of 
the Christian religion, and especially in the necessity of 



THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION. 609 

conversion. No man intends to be damned, although 
many in their professions say that they will be damned, 
and will even swear to it ! Can a man in his senses 
deliberately make up his mind to go to the world of woe. 
Oh ! no. He intends to go to heaven ; and if conversion 
is necessary, he intends to be converted too. It is this 
hope of conversion at some future day that keeps him 
quiet. " If I had thought, twenty years ago*' said a cer- 
tain statesman, " that I would be called to die, without 
being prepared, I would have been a wretched 
man." This is just exactly the state of the case, with 
one, and may not I say, with all ! The work of repent- 
ance is certainly to be done; but it is always at some 
future period — "To-morrow!" So it was with Felix, 
who under Paul's preaching, trembled, but said, " Go thy 
way for this time, when I have a convenient season I will 
call for thee." Ah ! so it is with thousands and tens of 
thousands, at the present day. This spirit of procrasti- 
nation is deeply seated in the human bosom ; and doubt- 
less, there are many within these walls at this very mo- 
ment, who are not yet converted, but who intend to be, 
before they die. They are now saying To-morrow, 
and they have been saying To-morrow for lo ! these 
many years. See this young man yet in his sins ; 
does he not know that he must repent, or perish ? 
Yes, his mother taught him this a long time ago. Has 
he repented ? He has not shed one penitential tear ! 
Well, has he reconciled himself to the idea of perishing for 
ever ? Certainly not. He intends to repent ! When ? 
to-day ? No, it is not convenient now. There are some 



6io 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



worldly pleasures which he wishes first to enjoy. But he 
fully intends to repent. When ? And he says " To- 
morrow!" See that young lady, who is one of the gayest 
of the gay, who will even trifle in the house of God ; has 
she chosen Mary's part ? She has the frankness and the 
candor to admit that she has not. Does she not know 
that she must have Mary's part, or she cannot have 
Mary's heaven ? Certainly, she knows it This is one 
of the lessons her mother taught her in the nursery. 
Well, is she willing never to have Mary's heaven? By 
no means ; the bare idea of her never getting to heaven 
would spoil all her joys, would make her miserable 1 
To be sure, she has not chosen Mary's part yet, but she 
intends to do it ! When ? — and she says, " To-morrow !'» 
See that man of business, wholly immersed in the things 
of this world. He has great forecast with regard to the 
things of time, but none with regard to the things of 
eternity. He makes no preparation to meet his God. Is 
not some preparation necessary ? He admits it, and pur- 
poses to attend to this matter, all in good time. When ? 
At some future period. And he says, " To-morrow." 
See, too, those who are openly wicked ; who are intem- 
perate, who are profane, who are fraudulent, who are 
licentious, who indulge themselves in every form of vice 
and iniquity. Do they not know that they which do such 
things shall not inherit the kingdom of God ! Yes, they 
were taught this doctrine in the Sabbath-school, many 
years since, and they intend to reform. When? — and 
they say, "To-morrow." And, O, sad to think upon, 
there goes a grey-headed sinner; the snows of fifty, 



THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION. 6l I 



sixty, seventy winters have been bleaching his locks, and 
his heart has never yet felt the sweet influence of a 
Saviour's love ! Does he not know that he must set out 
for heaven, or, in the very nature of the case he cannot 
expect to reach that happy world ? Certainly he knows 
it, for he has heard many a sermon, and has occasionally, 
and particularly in times of affliction, read his Bible. 
Has he set out for heaven ? He has not taken one sin- 
gle solitary step ! But he purposes to set out. When ? 
" O, at some future period." And even this grey-headed 
sinner says, " To-morrow 1" Persons in health too, I 
have seen putting off seeking the salvation of their souls 
until they got siek ; and when they were laid upon a bed 
of disease, they were in too much pain to attend to the 
matter, and they put it off until they got well again; and 
some persons, even under awakening influences, post- 
pone the act of submission to Christ. They hope to be 
able to do something meritorious, and be better prepared 
to close in with the offers of salvation. When ? And lo! 
even the awakened sinner too frequently says, "To-mor- 
row !" O this spirit of procrastination ! How common j 
It has proved the ruin of millions, and yet it is perhaps 
as common now as it ever was. Alas that it should be 
so ! But there is another point of resemblance : 

III. Both Pharoah and the impenitent sinner have 
some reasons for saying "to-morrow," but the reasons are 
not good. The monarch of Egypt said to-morrow, ho- 
ping, perhaps, that his magicians might be able to remove 
the frogs, or that they might pass away themselves before 
the time fixed ; and then, no thanks to Moses, or the 



6l2 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



God whom he served. No matter what his reasons were, 
we are quite sure they were not good. Even so, the sin- 
ner who puts off seeking the salvation of his soul, doubt- 
less has some reasons for doing so, but, assuredly his 
reasons are not good. Some tell us that they have not 
time to attend to such matters. The Saviour knew very 
well the varied engagements of human life. And yet his 
command to every individual is this, " Seek ye first the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness;" that is, seek 
this as an object of the first importance, and in the first 
place ; and that we should permit nothing whatever to 
have the priority over this, a remarkable case is left upon 
record. And one said to our Saviour, Master, I will fol- 
low thee said another, but " suffer me first to go and 
bury my father." Is there any duty more sacred than 
the performing of tke funeral obsequies for a dead parent? 
Surely the Saviour will grant this request. No ; he did 
not ! " Let the dead bury their dead," said he, but go thou 
and preach the gospel; and as piety is a prerequisite to the 
work of the ministry, we see plainly that the Saviour 
meant to be taken literally when he said, " Seek ye first 
the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." Let no 
one then say, that he has not time to seek the salvation 
of his soul. In no case can this reason be admitted as 
a good one. " But, it may be," another procrastinating 
sinner will say, " professors of religion are no better than 
others." In reply to this, we may remind you of the lan- 
guage of the apostle — "And what hast thou to do to 
judge another man's servant?" But the words of the 
Saviour must silence every sinner forever: "Except ye 



THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION. 613 

repent, ye shall all likewise perish." But the sinner may 
urge that he can do nothing. Let him lay his hand upon 
his heart, and say, if he can, that he has done every- 
thing that he could, but he must wait God's time ? Is 
this it ? Be it so ; the present is God's time, as it is writ- 
ten, " Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is 
the day of salvation." " To-day, if ye will hear his voice 
harden not your heart." " But," again replies the sinner, 
" there are so many denominations." And is the sinner 
such a sectarian as to believe that we must belong to 
some certain church, or we cannot be saved ? He believes 
no such thing ; and therefore this excuse will not stand 
Still wishing to justify himself, he may say, " I have time 
enough yet." "Friend," I would say, "how much time 
have you ? Did you never hear of any one suddenly 
called away ? And who knows, but you may furnish the 
next example ?" But you say, your heart is so hard. 
And is there not a bath of blood divine which can melt 
the flint away ? Thank God ! there is a balm in Gilead; 
there is a Physician there; aye, there is not a want in the 
sinner but there is a corresponding fullness in the blessed 
Redeemer for it pleased the Father that in him should 
all fulness dwell. But, it may be, the sinner says, he is 
not fit to come to Christ, yet his conscience tells him 
that he is a great sinner. 

]L,et no conscience make you linger, 
Nor of fitness fondly dream ; 

All the fitness he requireth 

Is to feel your need of him ; 
This he gives you, 

'Tis the Spirit's rising beam." 



614 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



The excuses which the sinner offers for procrastination 
are many. Their name is "legion," but not one is good — - 
not one will answer on a dying bed, nor amid the sol- 
emnities of the last great day ! I repeat it, then ; both 
Pharoah and the impenitent sinner have reasons for say- 
ing "to-morrow;" but in neither case, are the reasons 
good. This point of resemblance, then, is very exact ; 
but there is yet another point of resemblance, and quite 
as exact as any yet mentioned. It is this : 

IV. Notwithstanding all disguises, the true reason for 
saying to-morrow is perfectly manifest in each case. 
Pharoah said to-morrow, because he did not wish to let 
the children of Israel go. He wished to retain his grasp 
upon them as long as possible, and as his release of the 
children of Israel must be simultaneous with the removal 
of the plague, he wished a little more time to think upon 
the subject. Precisely so it is with the sinner. He loves 
his sins, and he wishes to hold to them as long as he can; 
particularly certain sins, which are peculiarly dear to him 
and to part with which would be almost like parting soul 
and body asunder. This one is wedded to gold ; another 
loves the world with an inordinate affection : a third is 
not willing to give up the privilege of resenting injuries ; 
and another has no taste or relish for certain acts of self- 
denial ; whilst a fourth has contracted a certain evil habit, 
which he finds it almost impossible to break. See the 
profane man ; the intemperate man ; the licentious man ; 
the fraudulent man ; the revengeful man ; and see, too, 
the crowd of ball-loving, theatre-going, horse-racing, 
Sabbath-breaking sinners. These all "roll their sins as a 



THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION. 615 

sweet morsel under their tongues.'* They would rather 
part with almost anything in the world than with their 
favorite indulgences. Indeed, I have known some like 
Esau, who, for one morsel of meat, sold his birth-right; 
and you know how that afterwards, when he would have 
inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no 
place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with 
tears. Yes, sinners are sometimes awakened under the 
word, or, by some remarkable providence they are alarm- 
ed: their consciences smitten, they are ready to take up 
the pentecostal dry, Men and brethren, what must we do? 
and, when told that they must break off their sins by 
repentance, and their iniquities by turning unto the Lord, 
they struggle, they hold back, they would like to com- 
promise matters : and when told that they must give up 
every sin, crucify every lust, and must part with every 
idol, they think that the Bible exacts too much : and 
when we urge them to come to the point without any 
further delay, they are ready to say, and frequently do 
say, I do not like to be pressed in this way ; I must have 
a little more time to think on the subject. Ah ! my breth- 
ren, it is even so. The sinner loves sin ; he wishes to 
indulge in it so long as he can; and therefore, he says, 
"to-morrow !" Surely, all the points of resemblance 
between Pharoah and the sinner are most exact ; and, I 
would ask, is there not much reason to fear, that the end 
of the one and the end of the other will be substantially 
the same? Pharoah was hardened; and is not -the pro- 
crastinating sinner in danger of being hardened? "My 
spirit," says God, " shall not always strive with man." 



6i6 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



And the apostle tells us of some who were given over 
to a hard heart, and a reprobate mind; aye, and I have 
myself seen some whose hearts seemed to be a rock, and 
as adamant ! — yea, past feeling and past hope ! O, fear- 
ful state of the sinner, when the Spirit, grieved, departs to 
return no more ! Can there be any condition on earth 
worse than this ? Let me be poor ; let me be a bond- 
man , let me be a beggar ; but, O my gracious God, let 
me not be a hardened sinner ! O, cast me not away from 
thy presence, neither take thine Holy Spirit from me! 
But another remark I would make is this : Pharoah was 
cut off in the midst of his sins, and so it may be with 
every procrastinating sinner in this assembly. How aw- 
ful is the thought ! 

Let me close with a parable. There was in a certain 
place a faithful pastor, who was much blessed in his 
labors of love. He had, however, a neighbor, with whom 
he often conversed, and for whom he often prayed. This 
neighbor had some fine traits of character. He was a 
moral man, and seemed to be "not far from the kingdom 
of God." At times, he was much wrought upon, under 
preaching ; and more than once he was ready to say to 
his pastor, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." 
Indeed, on one occasion, like Felix, he trembled, but like 
the same Felix, he, by his actions said, "Go thy way for 
this time, when I have a convenient season I will call for 
thee." Yes, with him it was always " To-morrow, to- 
morrow." One day the minister heard that his neighbor 
was sick, very sick. What if he dies in his present state, 
thought the minister : he is an amiable man, a generous 



THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION. 617 

man ; in many points of character a most excellent man, 
but, by his own confession, he is no Christian. Has he 
never felt the power of God's converting grace upon his 
soul — suppose he should die in his present condition ! I 
must go and see him. Accordingly, taking his hat and 
cane, he called to see him. He knocked at the door; a 
servant opened it. " How is your master ?" " Very siek, 
sir ; please to walk in." The minister, led by the ser- 
vant, entered the chamber. The curtains were down, and 
the room was darkened, and on the bed there lay his 
neighbor, scorched by a raging fever. Taking him kind- 
ly by the hand, "How do find yourself this morning?" 
said the minister. "Very sick, sir," replied the neighbor. 
After a while the minister in a subdued tone of voice 
said : " Do you think, my dear sir, that you have made 
your peace with God? Should God see proper now to 
take you, are you ready to go?" "O, Sir," said the sick 
man, interrupting him, "I am in agony! Please to ex- 
cuse me. O my head! my head! I cannot talk to you 
now. Please to call again !" "When shall I call?" 
" To-morrow," said the sick man. The faithful man of 
God burst into tears, and retired. The next day he called 
again. The knocker was muffled ; a bad sign. Knock- 
ing gently at the door, the servant opened it. " How is 
your master?" "No better, sir ; please to walk in." The 
minister entered the chamber, and there was his neighbor, 
still upon a bed of sickness. " My dear neighbor," said 
the minister, "how are you this morning?" There was 
no response ! The man was delirious now, and spoke in 
broken sentences, incoherently. The minister, leaning 



6i8 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



upon the top of his cane, looked at his neighbor, and the 
silent tear trickled down his cheek. He was about to rise 
up and go away, but the wife of the sick man exclaimed, 
" O my dear pastor, won't you pray for my husband ?" 
The prayer was offered, and the minister taking the hand 
of his neighbor, said, " My dear friend, good-bye." 
Still there was no response. Alas ! the sick man knew 
not that his wife was weeping at his bed-side, and that 
his pastor had been praying for him. As the man of 
God was retiring, the affectionate wife followed him to 
the door, and in parting said, "My dear pastor, I am in 
great affliction, will you be so kind as to call again?" 
" Madam." said he, "when do you think I had better 
call?" And she said, " To-morrow !" O that to-morrow! 
that to-morrow! The associations were more than he 
could bear ; and the man of God went weeping all the 
way returning to his home. The next morning he called 
again ; the knocker was still muffled. He tapped gently 
at the door. The servant opened. " How is your mas- 
ter?" " He is said to be worse, sir." "I would like to 
see him." "You can't sir! The doctor has just left, and 
he has given the strictest orders that nobody should enter 
the room but those who are waiting upon him. But here 
is my mistress." — Madam! how is your husband?" "O! 
my dear pastor," replied she, bursting into tears, "he is 
worse — I fear much worse." " I would like to see your 
husband, madam, a fevy moments." " I would be glad 
to have you see him too," replied the afflicted woman, 
"but our physician says, that the crisis is come, and that 
the slightest excitement may prove fatal ; but the doctor 



THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION, 619 



said, that if his patient revived, he might be able to see 
you to-morrow." Having received a message, about the 
going down of the son, that his neighbor was in a critical 
state, and too weak to be seen, the minister could hardly 
sleep that night, so anxious was he about the salvation of 
his neighbor. The next morning, taking his hat and cane, 
he went early, to make at least some inquiry. Tapping 
again, gently, at the door, the servant opened. " How is 
your master ?" was the anxious inquiry. "O, sir," re- 
plied the servant, "he is dead !" " Dead!'* exclaimed the 
minister — " Dead !" " Yes, sir ; he died this morning, at 
4 o'clock." "God have mercy" — the minister was about 
to say, but it flashed upon him, it is too late now 1 It is 
enough— I beseech you, do not say to-morrow any more! 
To-morrow! It may be too late forever! To-morrow's 
sun may shine upon your grave! And O, remember that 
departed spirits return to earth no more ! Once lost, you 
are lost forever ! " Be wise to-day, 'tis madness to defer,'* 

Hasten, O sinner, to be wise, 

And stay not for to-morrow's sun; 
The longer Wisdom you despise, 

The harder is she to be won. 

O ! hasten mercy to implore, 

And stay not for to-morrow's sun ; 
For fear thy season should be o'er 

Before this evening's course be rutw 



Hasten, O sinner, to return, 

And stay not for to-morrow's sun$ 



620 



REVIVAL SERMONS. 



For fear thy lamp should fail to burn 
Before the needful work is done. 

Hasten, O sinner, to be blest, 
And stay not for to-morrow's sun ; 

For fear the curse should thee arrest, 
Before the morrow is begun. 



THE £NA 



i 



APPENDIX 



Several years ago I received a letter from a Christian brother in 
the State of New York, requesting my sentiments on several subjects 
connected with protracted meetings, revivals, &c, to which I replied 
in substance as follows : 

Frankfort, Kentucky, 2Uh May. 
Bear Brother — Your communication came to hand in due course 
of mail. The subject of revivals or religious reformation, is certainly 
one of great importance, and should be well understood, more espe- 
cially as there are some in the bosom of the Church, excellent Chris- 
tians too, who labor under prejudices which have a withering influ- 
ence, both upon themselves and those around them. Having heard 
that I have acted as an Evangelist, and that I have been in many 
revivals, you wish me to state something of what I have seen and 
heard, together with the results of my experience and observation. 
Fifteen years of my life have been devoted to the duties of the pas- 
toral office, and only about three to the work of an Evangelist, so 
called. It was chiefly whilst officiating in the latter capacity, that I 
had the pleasure of witnessing the varied and rich displays of the 
grace of God in the conversion of sinners ; and although I am again 
a pastor, settled amongst an affectionate people, whom I tenderly 
love, and to whom, I humbly trust, my labors have not been in vain 
in the Lord, yet I must confess, that I look back to the period when 
I acted as an Evangelist, as the happiest in my life, because it was 
the period of most labor and most usefulness. My plan was, (having 
obtained the approbation of the proper ecclesiastical bodies,) to have 
a series of protracted meetings, spreading over a wide extent of coun- 
try, and so arranging matters that I might have incessant employ- 
ment. I labored chiefly in South Carolina and Virginia, but attended 
numerous meetings also in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Caro- 
lina, and Ohio. It pleased God, in the course of three years, to make 
me an eye witness of many interesting scenes ; and I have subse- 
quently inquired with much solicitude about results, and find that 



622 



APPENDIX. 



there are lights and shadows — matter for joy and sorrow; but, thank 
God, upon the whole, that which is cheering, far, very far, exceeds 
that which is of an opposite character. But you wish me to be more 
particular on certain points. 

1. Mental excitement. — You ask whether it has usually been very 
strong? I answer, strong enough to produce deep anxiety; strong 
enough to extort the penitential cry ; and, in many cases, strong 
enough to keep the eyes wakeful through the shades of night, and 
occasion tears, and sometimes sobbing in the prayer- meeting and 
house of God. Generally speaking, however, silence and solemnity 
reigned in our public and social meetings ; and cases of disorder and 
extravagance have been very rare. In about eighty revivals of reli- 
gion, averaging thirty converts each, I do not suppose there were 
more than eight or ten cases of outcries ; and in nearly all of them 
order and stillness were immediately restored, by simply repeating 
this beautiful passage of Scripture, " The Lord is in his holy temple, 
let all the earth keep silence before him I" 

2. Measures. — I must confess I have seen some things practiced 
which I could not approve. With regard to myself, I may have 
erred, but my rule has been to confine myself to no#et of measures 
whatever ; for my opinion has been and still is, that a measnre 
which might be useful in one place, may be positively injurious in 
another. I have therefore varied them, according to times, and 
places, and circumstances. My general plan in conducting a pro- 
tracted meeting has been this : After the first sermon, I come down 
from the pulpit, and address professors of religion, who are respect- 
fully requested to occupy the seats immediately in front. This 
measure, if you choose to term it such, has usually had a remarkably 
happy effect. After the second or third sermon I come down from the , 
pulpit again, and address the youth grouped in the same way. 
Sometimes, however, it has been found best to meet them in the 
lecture-room. At some suitable time and place, an appointment ia 
made (if in town or city) for men of business. And when the reli- 
gious excitement is manifestly spreading and deepening, I have found 
it of very great service to have a meeting exclusively for the un- 
converted ; Christians being gathered together at the same time in 
another place, praying. This meeting has usually been extremely 
well attended, and has scarcely ever failed to be crowned with a re- 
markable blessing. In giving out the notice, however, I have found 
it very important to do it properly, so as to excite curiosity, but not 
awaken prejudice. I have been careful to give assurance that there 



APPENDIX. 



623 



was no intention to lay snares for them, but simply that they should 
be addressed in a respectful and affectionate manner. The lawyer 
•wishes to see the jury whom he addresses. This is natural. The eye 
affects the heart. And why should not the minister have distinctly 
before him the characters whom he wishes particularly to address ? 

When certain individuals are known to be under serious impres- 
sions, an invitation is sometimes given, on peculiarly solemn occa- 
sions, for those who are serious, and who desire an interest in the 
prayers of God's people, to come forward, or kneel at their seats. This 
measure I once did not approve ; but experience has taught me that 
it has a tendency to break down the pride of the heart, give decision 
of character, encourage ministers, and rouse the people of God to 
more earnest and effectual prayer. I am free, however, to confess, 
that in places where such an invitation is not expected, in my opin- 
ion it is no expedient. The invitation is sometimes given in the 
great congregation, but more generally in meetings of a more 
select and private character. Inquiry, or anxious meetings, have 
been much called for, and of great benefit. The plan suggested by a 
venerable and much esteemed father in our church, of inviting the 
serious to remain after sermon, may answer in some cases, but I con- 
fess I do not much like it, and for this simple reason : — when the 
congregation is dismissed, the current sets so strongly towards the 
door, that it is almost impossible to resist it. It is, I think, much 
better to have the anxious gathered together in a more private place 
and with less observation. Before the protracted meeting is brought 
to a close, it is almost my invariable practice to have an appointment 
for children, from four to twelve years of age, parents also being 
particularly requested to attend. This meeting has proved, on almost 
every occasion, one of special interest. I have seen the attention of 
the dear little ones fixed, chained, for nearly an hour, their eyes 
sparkling with pleasure, and occasionally dimmed with tears ; and I 
have noticed that many parents have been reached through their 
children, who would, it seems, be reached in no other way. Sim- 
plicity will please little children, and will touch parents too. I con- 
fidently expect to meet in glory, many parents and children, who will 
praise God forever for meetings of this kind. In all my plans, my 
aim has been to keep divine truth in contact with the mind as long as 
possible without jading ; for it is divine truth, sent home by the 
Spirit of God, that produces the effect desired, that accomplishes the 
change uftn the sinner more glorious than the garnishing of the 
heavens : *od I have observed, that by grouping classes, and diversi- 



624 



APPENDIX. 



fying addresses, the attention is oftentimes renewed, and the interest 
kept up to an extent that is really wonderful. Besides holding 
special meetings for the particular classes mentioned, I have been in 
the habit of having a meeting for mothers, and I can truly say that 
such meetings have proved interesting and beneficial. 

3. With regard to the " divisions which follow in the churches," 
I am happy to say I have seen or heard very little of this. My 
plan has been, from the commencement of the meeting, to inculcate 
the great importance of brotherly love, and to urge upon all the 
duty of possessing and manifesting a kind regard for each other's 
sentiments and modes of worship. Harmony, I may say, has charac- 
terized all our meetings ; and from what I have seen and known, I 
am persuaded that, in all ordinary circumstances, there need be no 
difficulty, for there is something beautiful and sweet in the Christian 
spirit; and this spirit is made peculiarly manifest in seasons of re- 
freshing from the presence of the Lord. Only let ministers avoid all 
uncharitable and censorious remarks 5 let them be ever kind and con- 
ciliatory — let them aim, not at building up a particular church or 
party, but let them seek simply the glory of God in the conversion 
of sinners, and if they existed before, all jarrings will soon cease, and 
all prejudices soon vanish away. The Spirit of God working upon 
the unrenewed mind converts the lion into a lamb, the vulture into a 
dove; and shall not the same Spirit soften down those who have 
already been renewed? 

With regard to Evangelists, I think in our church there is great oc- 
casion for them ; but I would remark, it is matter of the last impor- 
tance that they be prudent, and under the influence of a tight spirit. 
Two things are indispensable : — First, that they go only where they 
are invited by the proper authorities of the church ; and secondly, 
that in all things they consult the wishes, and submit to the will, of 
the pastor. I would further observe, that it is of the last importance 
that the evangelist should duly appreciate the sacredness and respon- 
sibility of the pastoral office, always speaking highly of the stated 
means of grace. And one main object, I think which he should 
ever have in view, is to strengthen the reciprocal affection of pastot 
and people \ and to this end it is extremely desirable that every 
evangelist should have himself been a pastor. 

4. In relation to the Press, I would say, our religious papers render 
substantial aid to the cause of Zion. They are of immense service, 
containing oftentimes information of an extremely valuable charac- 
ter, and circulating intelligence which comes to us, " like cold water 



APPENDIX. 



625 



to the thirsty soul." But frequently the accounts which are given of 
protracted meetings and revivals, are too highly colored, and some- 
times there is a freedom of remark indulged in, which, to say the 
least, is not good to the use of edifying. Alas, poor human nature 1 
Everything is stamped with imperfection in this world. 

Before I close this letter, permit me to say something on the sub- 
ject of revivals in general, for there are many groundless prejudices. 
Some tell us, " they know not what a revival of religion means." 
When we speak of the revival of commerce or the revival of learning, 
or the revival of a plant, the meaning is clearly understood. Why 
not, with equal ease, understand what is meant by the revival of re- 
ligion? "But so many persons are converted at the same time! Is 
it not all sympathy?" The work is the work of God, and surely He 
that originally grouped the stars in the firmament of heaven, can 
with equal ease, group those who are to shine as stars forever and 
ever. " But is there not a great deal of extravagance ?" No, not if 
the ministers are prudent, and the meetings are properly conducted, 
and closed at proper hours. " A*e there no individual cases of fanati- 
cism ? No excesses whatever ?" Perhaps occasionally there may be. 
What then ? The excesses of Carlstadt, and the fanaticism of the 
Anabaptists of Germany, did much to bring the Reformation into 
disrepute ; but where is the American, where the lover of civil and 
religious liberty, who will not bless God for the glorious Reformation, 
notwithstanding the excesses of Carlstadt, and the fanaticism of the 
Anabaptists of Germany? "But can sinners be converted so sud. 
denly V 1 In every case, perhaps without exception, they go the round 
to work out their own righteousness before they submit to Christ; 
but after all, is not regeneration instantaneous ? Is not this doctrine 
recognized in all our standard works? Is it not the doctrine of the 
Bible ? " But are there no spurious conversions ?" There may be ; 
and are we not taught to expect such things in the 13th chapter of 
Matthew ? Spurious conversions ! And are all pure gold who come 
into the church when there is no special excitement? * Spurious con- 
versions ! A friend makes me a present of a bundle of bank bills in 
the hour of my necessity. On examining them, I find one or two 
counterfeit. Shall I send back the bundle and despise the gift? 
" But does not the excitement soon cease?" There is no necessity 
for it. I have heard of a revival which lasted two years, another 
which lasted six years, and I think the Bible tells me of one which ia 
to last a thousand years ! It is our privilege to have not merely a 
shower, but a whole day's set ram. Suppose, however, the positive 



626 APPENDIX. 

excitement is not lasting, may not much good fruit nevertheless re- 
main ? A few days after, the soil is dry again. Did the shower 
therefore do no good ? " But do not some of the converts, so called, 
fall away ?" Be it so. Go into your orchard ; your trees are in full 
bloom. Some of those blossoms are going to fall away without fruit. 
"What then ? Would you have no blossoms at all ; or would you have 
only two or three or blossoms this year, and two or three the next ? 
According to a calculation which I have made, only about one in fif- 
teen or twenty of those hopefully converted, fall away. And what 
then? Here is a revival, and one hundred profess conversion, but 
only one half are really converted and saved from the damnation of 
hell, and brought home to God and to glory 1 Is that nothing? I 
think I have somewhere read that there is joy in the presence of the 
angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. But you know how 
frivolous are the objections so frequently urged, so I need say no 
more. 

Your brother in Christ, 

• Daniel Baker. 



APPENDIX. 



627 



INTERESTING RECOLLECTIONS, 



Facts are beautiful things, and not unfrequently they furnish fine 
illustrations of sentiments and doctrines, known and believed by all 
who respect the sacred volume. In the Pastor's Journal, I have 
noticed a variety of cases related by those who were eye-witnesses of 
what they communicated 5 and I verily believe that the publication of 
them has proved to be exceodingly useful. Having myself during 
many revivals of religion, witnessed a number of very interesting 
things, I thought it proper to make a record of them, some of which 
are now laid before the public, as a suitable appendage to the fore- 
going sermons, and illustrative of certain passages of Scripture often 
quoted. 

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE. 

1. In a certain town in Georgia, lived Mrs. M. a pious widow. 
She had two sons in a distant State, whom she had not seen for 
many years. They were thoughtless young men, and avowedly infi- 
del in their sentiments. She received a letter from her sons promis- 
ing an early visit. About this period an arrangement was made with 
myself, to hold a protracted meeting in the place of Mrs. M.'s resi- 
dence, so soon as it would suit my convenience. The pious mother, 
exceedingly anxious for the conversion of her long absent and belov- 
ed sons, made it a matter of special prayer, that the Providence of 
God would so order matters that the visit of her sons, and the contem- 
plated meeting, might take place at the same time. The young men 
came ; remained several days, and then said they must return. They 
fixed on Friday night, when they must go without fail, in the stage. 
Poor mother ! the meeting to which she looked forward with so mueh 
anxiety, had not commenced. The minister had not arrived. It 
seemed as if her prayers had availed nothing. On the morning of the 
day fixed for their departure she was told that the minister was come, 
and the first sermon would be preached that very night. How tanta- 



628 



APPENDIX. 



lizing I But mark the ingenuity of a pious mother ! Having a seep* 
tained that the stage would not go that evening until 9 or 10 o'clock, 
she entreated her sons to go to church, and there remain until the 
sounding of the stage horn should summon them away. I believe 
that most mothers would have said, I have not seen my sons for a 
long time; I may never see them any more. I believe I will not go 
to church myself, this evening. I will enjoy their company as long as 
I can. But no I had she not offered special prayer that they might 
be present and receive a blessing at that meeting? "Come, my sons? 
go with me to church this evening, and hear what you can. n They 
yielded. They went; and that night God answered the mother's 
prayers. Both were brought under powerful conviction. Near the 
closing of the services of the sanctuary, the sounding of the stage 
horn was heard, sure enough. According to arrangement they hur- 
ried away to the office — but, behold ! the stage was full ! They were 
obliged to remain until Monday following. On the Sabbath we had 
a most solemn time. "When the anxious were invited to come for- 
ward, or kneel at their seat, if they desired the prayers of God's peo- 
ple, (according to tho custom of that place,) several immediately 
knelt at their seats. Two young men came forward and kneeled near 
the desk — and only two. I saw an elderly lady at some distance, 
rise, and leaning forward, she fastened her tearful eyes upon them* 
It was the mother, and these young men were her sons ! Many eyes 
were fixed upon her, but nobody said, Madam, sit down. — No I it was 
a sacred sight. Heaven bless the mother I Let her stand. Let her 
look on. O, it was worth an angel's visit from the skies I That day 
"both of these young men obtained a joyful hope. Verily, it would 
have touched a heart of rock to have seen the sons, both of them 
throwing their arms around the neck of their beloved mother — now 
a thousand times dearer than ever— and telling her that the Lord had 
heard her prayers, and blessed them, as they hoped, with his forgiv- 
ing love! Yerily, the name of Jesns, in that moment uttered by 
them, came over her with all the sweetness and power of a charm. 

I saw the happy mother. She grasped my hand. She wept. The 
tears which rolled down her cheeks were tears of religious joj. For 
a few moments she was silent. When she spoke she blessed God,, 
and said, in the very words of Mary, " My soul doth magnify the 
Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour, for he hath 
regarded the low estate of his handmaiden." Verily, there is a Hod 
in the heavens who heareth prayer ! One of those sons, I am told, is 
now a preacher. Take another ease. 



APPENDIX. 



629 



2. Whilst a meeting of much interest was going on in a certain 
■country town in Virginia, Mr. K., a pious young man, selected a 
young lawyer who was a noted scorner, and made him the subject of 
special prayer. About two days afterwards the young lawyer 'came 
to the house where the pastor was. I myself was in the same house 
at the time, but being particularly engaged, requested the pastor to 
speak to him. "O," says he, " he is not serious." Yes, I replied, 
he must be, or he would not come here. " I know him better than 
you do," said the pastor, "he is a scorner. There is no hopeef him. 1 ' 
The young lawyer was permitted to depart, I believe, without a single 
religious remark having been made to him. My conjectures were 
true. He was then under awakening influences. 

Perhaps two weeks after that, this young lawyer, now rejoicing im 
Ohrist, was riding along the road on his way to a protracted meeting 
about to be held in an adjacent county. Before he reached the place, 
he fell in with another young man, Mr. P., going to the same meet- 
ing. Religious conversation was introduced, and the awakened law- 
yer spoke freely of the change of views and feelings which he had 
•experienced, and ascribed them, under 'God, to the prayers of his 
friend, Mr. K., who had selected him as the subject of special prayen 
"Ah !" said Mr. P., "I had friends once who used to pray For me] 
but I have been so careless, so wicked, they do not think it Worth 
while to pray for me now. They have all given me up. There is not 
an individual I suppose on earth who remembers me in prayer.** 
"0 yes," replied the young lawyer, "there is one, I know." "Who 
is it?" quickly asked Mr. P. "The very same who prayed for me 
has made you the subject of special prayer." "Is it possible V said 
Mr. P., and throwing himself back, he had well nigh fallen from the 
horse upon which he was riding. From that moment he waked up 
to the claims of his undying soul. A few days after, with great joy, 
he was telling to those around what a dear Saviour he had found. 
Blessed be God, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man 
availeth much. Take another case. 

3. During a protracted meeting held in S — — , Alabama, two 
daughters of Zion met every day to pray together for their beloved 
husbands, who were highly respectable, but strangers to God's con- 
verting grace. One was a moralist, so called 5 the other an avowed 
infidel. Before the meeting closed, both of those were, 1 believe, 
soundly converted. The latter died some time after in great triumph] 
the former continues to this day, if I mistake not, a much valued 
member of the church of Christ with which he first united himself. 



630 



APPENDIX. 



4. A meeting which led to some important and happy results, took 

place some years since in , Georgia. Religion was at a low ebb 

in that place. There were sad jarrings amongst those who were 
taught by their Master to love one another. The first sermon was 
preached on Saturday evening. On the Sabbath we had a pretty 
large congregation, and some considerable interest was manifested ; 
but right melancholy was it on Monday, to see how few came to the 
sanctuary. Scarcely any but females. The men of the plaee, gener- 
ally, seemed to take no interest in the meeting whatever ; nay, some 
of them opposed, and even forbid their families attending. The meet- 
ing, however, went on, and of a truth the Lord was with us. By Wed- 
nesday morning something like ten females were hopefully eonverted> 
but not a single male, man or boy. Indeed, up to tbat hour we saw 
scarcely a single unconverted man (particularly during the day) in 
the church. We were not discouraged — we resolved to hold on. 
That morning, at the prayer-meeting which preceded preaching, those 
present, (and a precious band it was,) were reminded, of what indeed 
they knew full well, that the men were still uninterested. The case 
of Paul was stated, who went to the place where prayer was wont to 
be made, and spake to certain women who resorted there ; and the 
glorious results were also brought to recollection, and they were 
urged to offer up special and incessant prayer for the men. After 
preaching this morning there was much whispering. One said to 
another, as they were returning to their houses, "Did you see Captain 
H. at church this morning f "Yes." " What brought him there ?" 
w I don't know, but I certainly saw him." In the afternoon Captain 
H. was there again-^and at night ! The next morning also 1 "Why 
wh at is the matter? Captain H. comes three times a day I Well, 
tais is strange V } But who is Captain H. ? Why, a man of the 
world — a man of considerable influence, and supposed to be a skeptic. 
Moreover, a very firm and courageous man, who a few weeks before 
had arrested a man, when the sheriff, with all the force that he could 
get, could not arrest him. This is the man who, manifestly in an- 
swer to the prayers of the people of God, is brought to the sanctuary, 
and there led to consider his latter end. In the afternoon of Thurs- 
day he came again. Upon the close of the sermon, great seriousness 
being visible, the anxious were invited to kneel at their seats if they 
desired to be prayed for. Immediately Captain H. dropped upon his 
knees, and two others were at his side. The thing was soon noised 
abroad, and the men began to flock in wonderfully. "Captain H. is 
becoming religious." "You don't say sol Weill will go and see," 



APPENDIX. 



631 



Soon divine influences began to rest upon the men in a remarkable 
manner, and in a short time we had the happiness of seeing, among 
others, as many as eight or ten men who had professed to hare found 
the Saviour precious to their souls. Captain H. has since become an 
active Christian, and a superintendent of the Sabbath School in that 
place. 

** It shan't he said that praying breatb 
Was ever spent in vain, 1 1 

WHEN THE I>OED TURNED AGAIN QUE CAPTIVITY, WE WEES LIKE 
THEM THAT DREAMED. 

1. During the great revival in B Mr. F., a talented lawyer, 

was numbered among the converts. His case was a very clear and 
delightful one. He was one of several, who, brought in at that time, 
have devoted themselves to the gospel ministry. Already has Mr. F. 
entered the ministry — already has he been instrumental in winning 
many souls to Christ. Immediately after his conversion, I called 
upon him. He was upon the mount ! "With a countenance radiant 
with delight, he grasped my hand, and exclaimed, "O, sir, I have an 
ocean of joy I" 

2. When Mr. P. (the young man mentioned in the previous article,) 
obtained a hope of an interest in a Saviour's blood, he seemed to be 
one of the happiest creatures on earth. Everything was new ; every- 
thing delightful — the trees waving in the forest, the birds carolling in 
the groves, the sun shining in the heavens, and the dew-drops spark- 
ling with the beams of the morning, — all seemed to congratulate him 
upon his surprising and happy change. Standing, as it were, in a 
new world, he remarked, "I am a happy man ! I have more happi- 
ness in one half-hour since my conversion, than I thought I should 
have even in heaven !" 

3. At a meeting in Florida, Mr. A., who had been a disciple of 
Fanny Wright, and a very profane man, was happily brought to feel 
his need of a Saviour. After very pungent convictions, he obtained a 
joyful hope, But the transition from the gloom of infidelity to the 
brightness of gospel day, was so great that he was literally like one 
that dreamed. He eould scarcely believe that such a sinner as he had 
been, could find mercy. It was almost too good to be true. Surely 
it must be a dream ! But, no — it is a blessed reality I In this frame 
of mind, I recollect, he entered the inquiry meeting, one day, and 
every now and then, indulged in some exclamation of joy. As there 



632 



APPENDIX. 



were a number of interesting persons present, who were only a little 
serious, I was fearful they might be prejudiced by such things; ana 
in apologizing for Mr A., I made a remark of this kind, that it waa 
not at all surprising if a young convert should be almost wild with 
joy. Was not Archimedes wild with joy when he had found out how 
to solve a certain problem ? And, continued I, when a man of the 
world has drawn a prize in the lottery — twenty-five thousand dollars, 
for instance — Here the converted infidel interrupted me, "Don't say 
twenty-five thousand dollars," said he, starting from his seat, "don't 
say twenty-five thousand dollars, sir,— say millions, sir, say millions." 

BEHOLD HOW GOOD AND PLEASANT IT IS FOE BRETHREN TO DWELL 
TOGETHER IN UNITY. 

1. During a protracted meeting held in G , a pleasant summer 

retreat, in one of our southern States, an address was made to those 
who Avere professedly the people of God. Amongst other things, they 
were exhorted to cherish a spirit of brotherly love, and if they had 
had any quarrel with another to forgive. They were affectionately 
urged to pass an act of forgiveness, without delay, and to seize the 
very first opportunity to extend the hand, and to do it cordially. In 
about twenty minutes after, while the services were yet going on, an 
elderly lady rose up, passed by me, and gave her hand to another 
lady. I certainly did not expect the exhortation to operate so soon, 
or at least in this way, but verily I was not displeased — no one was 
displeased. On the contrary a wave of delicious feeling passed over 
the whole assembly. Many eyes were filled with tears, and methinks 
in that moment the God of love looked propitious down. Mark the 
sequel ! That lady at that time had two sons and a daughter, all 
yet unconverted. Before the protracted meeting closed, she had the 
unspeakable satisfaction of seeing all three rejoicing in the hope of 
glory ! What is this but the broad seal of heaven's approbation ? 
"Beloved," says John, "let us love one another, for love is of God, 
and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that 
loveth not, knoweth not God, for Gocl is love." 

2. I recollect another case which occurred in Virginia. Whilst 
addressing professors of religion, I, as my custom was, urged the 
great duty of forgiveness, and in order to give greater effect to my 
exhortations, I stated the case already mentioned, as one pleasing to 
God and worthy of all commendation, and then made a remark of 
this kind : " If there are any present in similar circumstances, let 



APPENDIX. 



633 



them go and do likewise." While I was yet speaking, an elder of the 
church reached out his hand over the benches to one who sat at some 
distance, and with much feeling said, "Neighbor, here is my hand." 
Another elder also arose, a man of silvery locks, and hurrying to 
another part of the house, gave his hand to an individual, who grasped 
it, and said aloud, "This is the very thing I have long wished for." 
Need I say that a revival followed ! Of a truth we had blessed times. 
How beautiful are the words of the apostle, "And be ye kind to one 
another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for 
Christ's sake hath forgiven you." 

3. In , State of , lived a minister of the gospel, a man of 

some considerable wealth and talents, but in a wretchedly backslid- 
den state. He had instituted three law suits; two of them against 
Mr. P., an amiaBle man, and a warm-hearted Christian. Eminent 
lawyers were employed, and the suits were of such a nature as, if 
brought into court would have thrown the whole community into 
a ferment. Whilst matters were in this condition, a revival 
commenced in the neighborhood. Both were much interested. 
The minister began to feel that he had indulged too much of a con- 
tentious spirit. Eeceiving, moreover, a letter at this time from a 
connexion of his, recently converted he wept, was completely softened 
down, and forthwith gave directions to his lawyers to drop the suits. 
The very next morning, if I mistake not, he went to a prayer-meeting 
where he met Mr. P., offered him his hand, and told him that he 
should prosecute his suits no further. Mr. P., much affected, threw 
himself upon his shoulders, and wept aloud. 0, it was a scene of 
thrilling interest. Methinks hovering angels looked in each other's 
faces, smiled, and began to chant David's beautiful psalm : 

" Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell 
together in unity ! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, 
that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard : that went down 
to the skirts of his garments ; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew 
that descended upon the mountains of Zion : for there the Lord com- 
manded the blessing, even life for evermore." 

4. I recollect yet another case. During the progress of a delightful 
meeting in a country church in East Tennessee, having occasion to 
speak on the subject of forgiving injuries, I stated one or two of the 
preceding cases, and then, in substance spoke as follows : " I know 
nothing of the state of things in this church, for I am here only as a 
stranger, in a strange land. I know not whether there has been any 
difficulty or variance between any now present. Neither your 



634 



APPENDIX. 



beloved pastor nor any other person has said a word to me on the 
subject, but drawing a bow at a venture, I will repeat a remark which 
I am in the habit of making in many places : — " Is there a person in 
the world with whom you would not shake hands ? If so, I solemnly 
charge you now, in the presence of God and his elect angels, and 
before Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his 
appearing in his kingdom — I solemnly charge you, pass an act of 
forgiveness this moment, and seize the earliest opportunity to extend 
the hand in token of forgiveness. 4 Beloved,' continued I, 'let us 
love another, for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of 
God and knoweth God ; he that loveth not, knoweth not God ; for 
God is love.' " Saying these things, in a few moments I pronounced 
the benediction, and as the congregation were beginning to disperse, 
two gentlemen,* who had, it seems, been literally at swords' points, 
looked at each other, and rushed into each others embrace, weeping 
abundantly. 0, it was a lovely and touching sight ; it was the tri- 
umph of grace over corrupt human nature. Surely religion comes to 
change hearts, to convert the lion into a lamb, the vulture into a 
dove. 

WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND. 

1. Some time ago, a meeting of several days' continuance was held 

m G , a pleasant summer retreat in South Carolina. Awakening 

influences went abroad upon the people almost from its very com- 
mencement. To increase the solemnity, the Providence of God con- 
curred with the preaching of the word. Death upon the pale horse 
came and took away a victim. A young lawyer was cut down in the 
midst of his years ! All classes of persons now seemed to be aroused 
to a concern for their undying souls. There was one young man, 
however, the only son of his mother, and she a widow, who took 
his stand openly on the side of opposition. He was an avowed infidel. 
He threatened to lay the hand of violence upon the ministers, and 
once made this remark : " When I die I will go to hell, and make a 
row there, and drive the Almighty from his throne I" How impious ! 
How daring ! That evening he went to church, and as usual, en- 
deavored to make sport of what was said from the pulpit. It pleased 
God, however, to send a word like an arrow to his heart. His sins 
flashed upcn his view. He literally trembled upon his seat, and 
after the benediction was pronounced, he came up to me, grasped my 

• One some time before had actually attempted to take the life of the other. 



APPENDIX. 



635 



hand, and with great anxiety asked what he must do to be saved? 
It was but another case of the Philippian jailor, and I could do no 
better than reply in the words of the apostle, " Believe in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Two days after this, I saw 
him, all joy and peace in believing. 0, it would have done any one 
good to have seen his dear mother throwing her arms around him, 
and saying, in the joy of her heart, " This my son was dead and is 
alive again, was lost and is found!" Subsequently this young man 
went to the north, to preach " the glorious gospel of the blessed 
God." 

2. A few weeks after the meeting just mentioned, one of a similar 

kind was held at , about fifty miles distant. The first sermon 

was preached on Tuesday night, and by Thursday afternoon the 
waters were troubled, and a goodly number had stepped into the pool. 
There was one man, however, who had no idea of such "camyings ow." 
He was a very irreligious man, and although he heard perhaps every 
sermon, he liked none of them, but generally returned from church 
in a rage. On Thursday evening I was invited to take tea at the 
house where he lodged. When he heard it he was angry. When he 
saw me coming, he, as I have been told, swore terribly. On entering 
the house I was introduced by a friend, who immediately retired. 
Left alone with this man, I confess I felt very awkwardly fixed, and 
scarcely knowing what to say, I made a remark of this kind : 
" Well, sir, I think we have had a very interesting meeting this after- 
noon." Immediately he burst into tears, crying aloud, "Mercy! 
mercy ! Lord have mercy upon me !" " Shall I pray for you, my 
dear sir?" said I. "Most willingly, most willingly," replied he. 
When I finished praying, he seemed so bowed down he could scarcely 
rise from his knees. That night there was no rest for him. The 
next day he was found amongst the anxious — a few days after, 
amongst the people of God ! and is now, it seems, a valuable member 
of the church. God be praised ! 

3. The case of Dr. B., brought in at the eleventh hour, is yet more 

remarkable. Licensed by the Presbytery of , in the year 1793, 

he preached a few sermons, (he entered the ministry purely, it seems 
to please his parents,) then abandoned the ministry and become a 
deist. In the year 1797, he declared himself an atheist. From that 
period, and for many a long year afterwards, even until his locks 
became hoary with age, he waged open war with the God of the 
Bible. I had heard much of Dr. B., as a man of influence, and one 
who had done immense mischief. I confess my curiosity was ex- 



1 



636 



APPENDIX. 



cited to see the man. At a protracted meeting held M , Dr. B. ; 

was present. He was awakened — was brought under deep and pun- 
gent conviction. I conversed with him. He was in an awful state 
of mind ; for, though evidently under divine influences, he had a 
great many objections to the Bible — quarrelled with Moses — did not 
like his account of the creation of the world. "Dr. B.," said I, at 
last, "if you will indulge such a disposition to cavil, there is no need 
to say anything more to you, sir." 1 immediately changed the con- 
versation. The next morning at prayer-meeting, the Dr. requested 
permission to make a remark. Permission was granted. He arose, 
with much emotion, and said, " My friends, I have been a most fla- 
gitious sinner." He went on in this strain for about ten minutes, 
and then sat down in great distress of mind. It was a most affecting 
sight. That day, I think it was, he was brought to the very borders 
of despair. " There is no hope," said he ; " Saul of Tarsus cannot 
be compared with me — I must be damned I" "0 no," said I, " the 
blessed Jesus is both able and willing to save you." " No, sir," re- 
plied he, with great emotion, 11 there is no possibility of my salvation 
— I must be damned." About 10" o'clock he was conducted into his 
chamber. I slept in the same room ; but there was no sleep for Dr. 
B. He felt that he was a lost sinner. Tossing himself about in the 
bed, he sighed, and groaned, and wept. All was dark and cheerless 
to his soul until about one o'clock, when he spoke aloud, and calling me 
by name, said, " Mr. B., are you awake?" When informed — " 0,sir," 
exclaimed he, " I feel a change ! I can accept of the Saviour now ! If 
Jesus Christ does not save me, I am damned forever ! I am happy 1 
I am happy 1 I would not part with my present feelings for ten 
thousand worlds." " Well," said I, " Dr. B., I suppose you can say, 
' 0 to grace how great a debtor.' " Clapping his hands to- 
gether, he exclaimed with great emphasis, " The very thing, sir, the 
very thing !" As he said this, he arose and began to dress himself. 
No sun had yet lighted up the eastern horizon, but what was better 
still, the Star of Hope had risen upon his soul I 

" Brightest star that ever rose, 
Sweetest star that ever shone. *• 

The next day, in the presence of the great congregation, he pre- 
sented himself as a miracle of grace, and told what the Lord had done 
for his soul. I suspect, that moment angels in heaven struck a note 
loud and long, rich and sweet. Some ten years after this, I men- 
tioned this case to a certain lady in conversation. 11 0 Sir," said 



APPENDIX. 



637 



she, " Dr. B., is my brother-in-law." " Indeed! said I. Well, is he 
still alive ?" " Yes," said she, " he is still alive." " And, Madam," 
continued I, ''how does he hold on?" "0, very well," said she, 
" very well ; he is a member of the church, and a useful member too." 
Surely grace is triumphant, and reigns like a conqueror. 

MATEENAL INFLUENCE. 

Some few years since, when in Texas, I unexpectedly lighted upon 
a military post. The soldiers, so far as their spiritual interests were 
concerned, had been sadly neglected. No one had preached to them, 
nor had any one, it seems, given them a single Bible or tract — no man 
cared for their souls. Having obtained permission of the commnder 
I preached several times to them. On one occasion, in the midst of 
ray discourse, I observed — "Soldiers ! most of you, I suppose, are 
from the United States, and are perhaps entirely regardless of the 
interests of your souls ; but I wonder if some of you have not pious 
mothers at home, who have loved you, and prayed for you, aye, and 
have wept on your account." Having made these, or very similar 
remarks, I cast my eyes rapidly over the faces of those before me, and 
observed one who was exceedingly wrought upon. Every muscle of 
his face seemed to be moved, and the tears began to trickle down his 
cheeks. Then addressing him particularly — "Soldier !" said I, "come 
here — I want to talk with you." Sure enough, he immediately fol- 
lowed me, and when we had gone a little way off — "Soldier," said I, 
" tell me — have not you a pious mother ?" Bursting into a flood of 
tears — "Yes, sir," said he, "I have a very pious mother, a member 
of the Methodist Church in Pennsylvania." Here he wept aloud — so 
loud that he might have been heard a very considerable distance. 
After pointing out the way of salvation to him, through a crucified 
Saviour, as clearly as I could, I left him. Some two or three days 
after I called again, and found him rejoicing in the hope of glory. 
He had found his mother's Saviour and his mother's God ! Heaven 
bless mothers, pious mothers, all the world over I and let all the angels 
of God say Amen. Thank God, I too had a pious mother. 

a steange thing. — "Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther." 

Some years since, I held a protracted meeting in a certain town in 
Georgia. Amongst others who professed conversion, were some 
three or four men, who had been esteemed infidels. Upon the close 
of the meeting, I went to another town some thirty miles distant, and 



638 



APPENDIX. 



preached one sermon, at night. Therp was present, in a remote part 
of the house, a man of three-score-and-ten, who was outrageously 
wicked, and an open and avowed infidel. He had around him several 
young men, whom he endeavored to amuse, in order to divert their 
attention from what was said in preaching. Near him, however, was 
a stranger, a pious man, who was very much annoyed by his light and 
trifling remarks. When the services of the evening closed, this hoary 
headed sinner, it seems, held, for the amusement of the young men, a 
kind of mock prayer-meeting ! After which, he had the effrontery to 
come to the house where the pious stranger and myself lodged. In 
the family circle, the impious conduct of the gray-headed sinner had 
been the subject of our conversation ; Srndthe "stranger'' was then re- 
quested to lead in the family devotions of the evening. He had taken 
his seat by a stand near the inner door, and was reading a portion 
of Scripture, when a knock was heard "at the outer door. The gen- 
tleman of the house rose up, and opened the door ; when who should 
come in but Mr. H., the old scorner ! He was pointed to a seat near 
the door, and sat down. I was very desirous that the brother who 
was about to lead in prayer should know who had come in ; for I 
suspected that there would be some reference to him in the prayer : 
but no ; his feelings were too much wrought upon to notice anything 
of the kind. When the chapter was read, we all kneeled down ; and 
in a little time our brother was praying with great earnestness, for 
the young men who had been at preaching that evening. Now, thinks 
I to myself, he will certainly notice the old man ; what a pity he does 
not know that he is in the room. Well, sure enough, after pouring 
out his soul for the young men, the pious stranger added — "And now, 

0 Lord, have mercy upon that old creature"-— and went on to state what 
that "old creature" had done and said in the church that evening. 
Upon arising from his knees, the brother who had prayed looked 
around, and saw the old man near at hand. He was astonished to be 
sure ; but would not deign to make any apology. The old scorner took 
a, -hymn-book, and sitting down just opposite the person who had led 
in prayer, begged him to sing one of his "favorite hymns ;" and then 
talked about the recent revival, and the conversion of the infidels 
there. " They were my disciples," said he ; "Mr. Baker has taken 
them from me, and I think he ought to take the old shepherd now." 

1 thought it time to come to the rescue of my friend j and, looking the 
old infidel full in the face, I said, "Sir, do you ever pray? Suddenly 
he seemed struck, as by some invisible power ! His eyes became 
glassy ; his tongue was paralyzed ; and, uttering some incoherent 



APPENDIX. 



639 



words, he rose up and hurried out. I never saw him any more. We 
were all much astonished, and came to the conclusion, that the hand 
of God was upon him, and that the sentence had gone forth against 
him, "Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther." 

another strange thing— but widely different. 

A long time ago, I had as an inmate of my family, a nephew, 
about fourteen years of age. He was a member of my church, and 
was supposed to be truly pious. One night, in his usual health, he 
retired to rest. A little while after, I heard a groan in his chamber. 
Seizing a candle, I rushed in, and saw my nephew throwing himself 
about in the bed very wildly. I spoke to him, but he gave me no an- 
swer. He seemed as one much terrified, and trembled exceedingly. "0 
that day 1" said he, "that dreadful day !" "Why, my dear nephew," 
said I, "did you think that the judgment-day was come, and you 
not prepared ?" "0 yes, yes 1" said he. "It was only a dream," re- 
plied I ; "only a dream, but it is well to be prepared for that day." 
In a few moments he was composed, and seemed inclined to sleep. I 
retired, but had not left the room more than ten minutes when I heard 
another groan proceeding from the same quarter. Seizing a candle, a 
second time I hastened in, and again found my nephew in i state of 
great excitement. His eyes were open, but he seemed not to recognize 
me. I spoke to him soothingly, but he replied not. Every muscle Was in 
motion. I thought he was going into convulsions. Much alarmed, I 
sent for a physician. He came, and administered medicine, which 
appeared to have a tranquilizing influence. All who were present, 
(the doctor, myself, and two young ladies, named Martha and Mary, 
who at that time had made no profession of religion,) sat down, and 
watched him. His feelings now completely calmed, he closed his 
eyes ; and, leaning his head upon my bosom, he seemed to be sinking 
into a gentle sleep. For a few minutes all was still, the silence of 
the grave reigned ; when, all at once, my nephew in pleasing accents 
exclaimed, "Death cannot make our souls afraid !" Having said this, 
all was again "still as the foot of night," when my nephew raised up 
his head, opened his eyes, and sweetly smiling, exclaimed in thrilling 
accents, "0 the glories of heaven ! the glories of heaven ! Delightful ! 
Well — if ever I saw golden hinges before. Brother, I am glad to meet 
you here ! (His brother had died about two months before.) There 
is Paul, and there is Peter 1 Well — let us go and see Stephen nowl 
Well — if ever I drank such water before 1 There is God I" said he : 



640 



APPENDIX. 



and putting his hands before his face, he bowed down his head, and 
seemed to have the feelings of the adoring seraphim, who veiled their 
faces and their feet, and cried, in notes responsive to each other, 
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his 
glory I" He then took away his hands from his face ; and I must 
say, I never saw human face shine so ! I never saw mortal eyes 
sparkle so ! My nephew thought himself in heaven — within the 
precincts of eternal day — sounds seraphic falling upon his ear, and all 
the glories of the heavenly world on every hand ! Looking around 
him, as one in perfect admiration, in perfect ecstasy, he exclaimed, 
"Here is everlasting rest — everlasting rest !" Having said this, he 
laid his head gently upon my bosom ; and in every feature of his 
countenance there was an expression of sweet satisfaction, which no 
words can describe. In a few moments he raised up his head, and 
gazing round, as if looking upon objects which seemed to charm his 
inmost soul, he exclaimed, "There is no curse here ! Uncle Daniel 
told me so!" (He had heard me preach from these words, "And 
there shall be no more curse.'') "0 the glories of redemption!" then 
burst from his enraptured lips. This scene lasted about thirty min- 
utes, all present looking on, but saying nothing, when, all at once 
my nephew's countenance was changed: a cloud came over his 
face, his eyes lost their lustre, his features were distorted, and, as 
if seized with some sudden agony, he cried out, "0 I can't go back! 
I can't go back !" and, bursting into tears, he came to himself, and, 
asked for water. I gave him. "Must I drink this water now?" said 
he, and then turning to the two young ladies, with a look and tone of 
voice not to be described he said, "0, Martha, try to get to heaven! 0 
Mary, do try to get to heaven !" — The next morning he was in his 
usual health, and remembered his dream, or trance, or whatever it 
might be called, but manifested no disposition to speak about the 
matter. 

I now simply state the case ; I know not, to this day, what to 
think of it. No matter, whatever it may be called, and in whatever 
way accounted for, one thing I know, I would not have missed being 
present for a great deal. It gave me a vivid idea of heaven, and of 
the sweet surprise and rapture of the soul as it first enters that eter- 
nal world of glory. I know not, I say, what to make of it, or how to 
account for it, but it is so. At any rate, it served to bring up fresh 
to my recollection the words of Paul: "It is not expedient for mo 
doubtless, to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the 
Lord. I knew a man in Christ, above fourteen years ago, (whether 



APPENDIX. 



64I 



fn the body, I cannot tell ; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell ; 
(jod knoweth;) such a one caught up to the third heaven. And Iknew 
such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell j 
God knoweth 5) how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard 
unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." Thank 
God there is a heaven! a paradise! a world of eternal glory, and 
eternal joy — there the wicked cease from troubling, and there the 
weary are at rest. No sin there ! no sorrow there ! but God is 
there ! and the angels are there ! and the redeemed, all robed in 
white, are there! — and there is joy, rapturous joy — yea, the full tide 
of overflowing and never-ending bliss ! Visions of glory ! how ye 
crowd upon my admiring sight ! City of the living God 1 how happy 
are those who walk thy golden streets ! 

** Let heavenly love prepare my soul, 
And call her to the skies; 
Where years of long salvation roll, 
And glory never dies I ' ' 

An Incident in a destitute place in Georgia. 

Riding as a missionary, in a region of country where the sound of 
the " church going bell" was never heard, and no ordinances of the 
church, were, perhaps, ever administered, I called at the gate of a log 
cabin to obtain some refreshment. As I dismounted from my horse, 
the lady of the house, a mother, ran out to meet me. " 0 ! sir," said 
she, " ain't you a preacher?" On being told I was — " I am so glad 
to see you," added she. " And why, Madam 1" said I. " Why, 
sir," replied the good woman, " I have a dear child that has not 
been baptized ; and I wish him to be consecrated to God in the ordi- 
nance of baptism." Upon conversing with her, and finding no diffi- 
culty in the way, I proceeded forthwith to the administration of the 
ordinance. Having explained its nature, and reminded the mother 
of her duty to do everything in her power to bring the child, even in 
early life, into the arms, of that Saviour who said, " Suffer little chil- 
dren to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the king- 
dom of God," I was about applying the element of water — " Madam," 
said I, "what is the name of your child?" " What is your name?" 
asked she. " Daniel Baker is my name," said I. " Well," rejoined 
she, " that is the name of my child." Heaven bless the good woman ! 
It seems she had made a kind of a vow, that if the Lord would only 
send that way some minister of the gospel, to apply the seal of the 
covenant to her dear little boy, the child should bear the name of that 



642 



APPENDIX. 



minister, as a memorial of a mother's gratitude ! Blessed ordinance ! 
Precious privilege ! If the sheep are in the fold, why should not th« 
little lambs be there also ? 

Another Incident, in one of the waste places in Virginia. 

Having sent an appointment to preach one sermon in a certain 
place, on a week day, I rode up at the hour appointed and was as- 
tonished to see so many horses hitched all around. As no house near 
at hand could accommodate the persons assembled, we went into the 
grove, and had such accommodations as we could get. I preached a 
long sermon, and every individual seemed to listen with an eagerness 
which I had rarely ever witnessed before. On singing the last 
hymn, I arose, and gave them some parting words. I then pro- 
nounced the blessing, but was not permitted to go ; and consented 
to preach another sermon, after a short recess. Accordingly, I did 
preach another sermon ; and all who were present can bear witness 
that it was by no means a short one. After the last hymn was sung, 
perceiving that there was great solemnity, and that not an individual 
seemed to be inclined to retire, I resumed speaking, and having occu- 
pied some twenty minutes, I pronounced the blessing, and sat down ; 
and to my surprise, all followed my example, and took their seats I 
I waited for them to retire, but not one seemed at all inclined to go ; 
they wanted me to give them some more last words. I accordingly 
arose, and addressed them again ; and as my form was now fading 
upon their sight, and my voice now dying upon their ear, and we 
might never see each other's faces in the flesh any more, I charged 
them, in the presence of God, and his elect angels, to make the care 
of their souls the one thing needful, and to meet me in heaven ! 
I sat down again, but still not an individual would move ! Hearts 
were melting, and tears were in many eyes ! They must still have 
" some more last words." I began again to speak, and had not con- 
tinued long, when (my face being turned to the west) I saw a dark 
cloud rising. It began to lighten, it began to thunder, but none 
save myself seemed to know that the storm was near. At length, 
rain-drops began to descend. " Friends," said I, " a storm is at 
hand : we had better retire." Then, and not until then, did they 
leave their seats in the grove: and one man, Captain Wright, coming 
to me, grasped my hand with much emotion, and, tears running down 
his cheeks, said, " Stranger, for God's sake come back, or send some 
one to preach to us the gospel I" Ah ! little do those who have the 
means of grace in rich abundance, think of the condition of thosa 



APPENDIX. 



643 



who are far away, who have silent Sabbaths, and no heralds of salva. 
tion to preach to them the glorious gospel of the blessed God I 

. A Death-bed Scene. — " The candle of the wicked shall 
be put out !" 

Mr. R., a very profane and wicked man, lived two years in a cer- 
tain town in which I resided, and during that period had heard me 
preach only two sermons. At a tavern, on a certain Sabbath, he had 
a difficulty with a ferocious man, who drew a pistol and shot him 
down ! Mortally wounded, he exclaimed, M Great God, I am a dead 
man ! Send for Mr. Baker!" When I came, he grasped my hand, 
and exclaimed — " A dying sinner unprepared I" A few hours after, 
his sun of life went down behind a dark cloud ! Sinners may think 
it a light matter to live without God, but of a truth, they will find it a 
serious affair to die without hopel They may revel in sin for a few 
days or years, at most : 

But Oh! their end! their dreadful end. 

Thy sanctuary taught me so; 
On slippery rocks I see them stand. 
And fiery billows roll below. 

Another Death-bed Scene. — "Wo to them, when I depart 
from them, saith the Lord." 

During a protracted meeting, in a very pleasant u Summer Re- 
treat" in one of our Southern States, Mr. R s, a youug man 

about twenty-five years of age was brought under awakening influ- 
ences. On the last day of the meeting I conversed with him, and 
found that there was a great conflict in his bosom. He felt the great 
importance of attending, immediately, to the high claims of God and 
eternity, but like Felix, it was with him — " Go thy way for this time, 
when I have a convenient season I will call for thee." The meeting 

closed, and Mr. R s returned home unconverted. Two days after 

he was taken alarmingly ill, and on the eighth or ninth day he 
breathed his last. On the morning of the day on which he died, 
having great mental distress, he sent for a neighboring minister 
before it was yet light. When the man of God reached his bed-side, 
he found him near his end, and sinking in despair ! " 1 have no 
hope," said he, ■' my day of grace is over, and I know when my day 
of grace closed — it closed with that meeting. 0 for forgiveness I" 
The minister told him there was forgiveness!" The minister told 
him that there was forgiveness in Christ. " No, no !" he passionately 



644 



APPENDIX. 



exclaimed, "but I don't feel it here, I don't feel it here !" laying his 
hand upon his bosom, already getting cold in death. The man of 
God referred him to many precious promises, but he could lay hold 
of none. " It is too late now r In the midst of this affecting scene, 
the preacher was called into another room ; a kind friend, then 

approached the bed of the dying man, and said, " Mr. R s, you 

had better compose yourself, and sleep a little now." "Sleep' 
Sleep!" said he in agony, " I have no time to sleep now!" Just at 
this moment he seemed to be death-struck. His youthful wife per- 
ceiving that her husband was just going, threw herself in agony upon 
his bosom, and shrieked aloud. This roused the dying man, for a 
moment, and looking up wildly, he exclaimed, " Lord Jesus 1" and 
his heart ceased to beat. 

"When a man dies, shall he live again?" "The night cometh. 
when no man can work." 

The Contrast. — Another death-bed scene. — " The 
righteous hath hope in his death." 

One of the jewels of my church in S , was a lady who was re- 
markably timid, and retiring, in health. This universally beloved 
daughter of Zion was laid upon a bed of pain, of languishing, and of 
death. I called repeatedly to see her, and it was very pleasant to 
find that in full view of her end she had "a good hope through 
grace." One morning, in particular, (if I recollect right, her last on 
earth,) I approached her bed-side ; and, taking her by the hand, 
said, u Well, my dear sister, how do you find yourself this morning?" 
Pressing my hand, she replied, " My dear pastor, I am in pain, I am 
in great pain ; but 0," continued she, " I am happy ! I am happy ! I 
am so happy ! Jesus can make a dying bed feel soft as downy pil- 
lows are !" A little after, she remarked, " There are the angels of 
God ! They are come for me !" That day her soul was with her 
Redeemer in paradise. 0, what a blessed thing it is to be a Christian ! 

Another pleasing Death-bed Scene. 

Mrs. C , a lady of some distinction, was, I believe soundly con- 
verted in my church during a blessed revival of religion. For several 
years she was a happy Christian ; but, being obliged to move in a 
certain fashionable circle, the fervor of her religious feeling, in a 
measure, passed away, and a cloud came over her soul. With her 
evidences of divine acceptance darkened, she was taken sick. She 
was laid upon her dying bed. On one occasion, I said to her, " My 



APPENDIX. 



645 



dear sister, are you willing to die?" " No," replied she, " I have not 
those clear views of my Saviour whieh I used to have, and which I 
think I ought to have." This darkness continued for several days ; 
but it pleased God again to visit her in mercy. Again with the 
blessed Saviour revealed in her heart, the hope of glory ; and full of 
joy and triumph, she looked up, and exclaimed, " The long expected 
One is come at last! Blessed Jesus! I am willing to go now!" 
This light, as it is believed, continued, until it was merged in tho 
joys of the paradise of God ! 

Jesus, the vision of thy face 

Hath overpowering charms; 
Scarce shall I feel Death's cold embrace* 

If Christ be in my arms! 

And when ye hear my heart-strings break, 

How sweet my minutes roll; 
A mortal paleness on my cheek. 

And glory in my soul I 



THE END. 



